Strike Before They Hiss
by RAWRified
Summary: Every time he spoke, it felt as if snakes were crawling all over her. Should that be a bad thing? Hueco Mundo COMPLETE .GinOC.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer (the only on youre gonna get): I do not own Bleach or Gin... if I did I can tell you certain things would be a lot different and the whole thing would revolve around bathtubs and breaking them**

**Okies, I'm back! This time with the promised GinOC story. Right important info on the story:**

**It will be set in Hueco Mundo, after Aizen and co. go there (obviously), but before Ichigo does. So basically its before the Hueco Mundo arc.**

**Were just gonna ignore the whole changing espada thing and say they were the same then as they are now, coz thats just easier. This also means Nel is out. **

**Err... think thats it, I'll let you know later if there is anything I've forgotten.**

**Prologue**

---

A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he sat in his new throne. The white marble of the chair synchronized with the rest of the bare room perfectly. Despite the white, it was dark. Long shadows cast across the room and made a satisfying eerie effect.

Aizen rested his head on his hand, his elbow balanced on the arm of the massive throne. He was sure that his calm eyes mixed with the slight smile gave off the impression of power. That thought was extremely pleasing.

An idea had occurred to him. It was this that was the source of his smile. It was a very agreeable idea. One that would surely only add to his power.

"Yar plannin' somin, I can tell"

Aizen's gaze didn't shift from staring into nothingness at the voice.

"Now, you shouldn't say such trivial things, Gin" he spoke coolly. Ichimaru Gin leaned against a wall to his right. The usual wide grin was on his face. The fox-like eyes were shut. The hands were concealed in the sleeves of his white haori in front of him.

"I'm just curious, that's all"

"I believe there is a saying that fits this perfectly," Aizen's eyes slid to the side and focused on his silver haired subordinate, "Curiosity killed the cat"

Gin stopped leaning against the wall and stood upright, no longer in the shadows. The moonlight streaming through the window caught him and reflected off of his hair.

"Aww" he moaned "Yar no fun. Kane-kun wantsa know too, don'tcha Kana-kun?"

"Don't call me Kana-kun" Tousen told him blankly from another corner of the room. The smile on Aizen's face widened slightly. Gin stepped towards Tousen.

"But cha do wanta know, don'tcha Name-kun?"

"Don't call me Name-kun"

"How bout Kame-kun, Kame-kun?"

Tousen had had enough of Gin's teasing that never seemed to end. He started walking towards the tall door to hopefully escape the torturing. Gin wouldn't give up that easily. He only followed, leaving the room with him, and taunting all the way.

"Don't be like that, Kana-kun"

Aizen watched as the figures retreated from the throne room. The door shut silently behind them, leaving him alone to his thoughts. He wondered when Tousen would finally crack and try to cut off Gin's arm. Never was the most likely answer. Kaname knew better than to attack Gin and had more self-control than essential to make him break over Gin's mocking.

Then there was the idea that had formulated in his mind earlier. It was perfect. The only flaw he could think of was a superfluous one.

He would try.

He would have control.

---

**That really wasn't that good, and was proper short. The actual chapters will be a LOT longer, trust me, and hopefully better.**

**Well then.**

**Review and let me know what you think**


	2. Accidents Happen

**I hope you all had a good xmas! And got lots of pressies! And ate lots of unhealthy food! God I love Christmas dinner, best meal of the year in my opinion. Except Christmas pudding, I don't like that.**

**This one is not that long, soz bout that.**

**Chapter 1: Accidents happen**

---

Ulquiorra sat placidly in one of the many tall chairs that lined the table. The blue tinged darkness engulfed the room, the whiteness of the furniture not making the slightest difference. The high backs of the, frankly, uncomfortable chairs reached up into the air that swirled inside the room. His fellow Espada sat around the long table. Most looked bored. Aaroniero Arruruerie of course didn't have any visible expression on his face, being covered in that strange mask-hat-thing.

They all waited. They had been waiting for fifteen minutes now.

Aizen obviously appreciated the art of arriving fashionably late.

As soon as the thought crossed Ulquiorra's mind, the Shinigami betrayer chose to enter the room, his faithful companions Ichimaru and Tousen following behind. He sat in the great chair at the head of the table and peered down its length.

"My loyal Espada, thank you all for attending this meeting" he addressed them all. "Today I have something very important that I would like to discuss with you"

Ulquiorra noticed that Nnoitra seemed a bit more excited at this news. The unsettling arrancar that was always so energetic annoyed Ulquiorra terribly. So much energy wasted in those trivial activities of his.

"But first," Aizen paused and a smirk grew on his lips, "let us have some tea"

---

Amaya's hands shook. This in turn caused the objects on the tray she was carrying to clatter amongst themselves. If she wasn't careful she would drop the entire thing. She had to tread carefully. Breaking a pot of scolding tea all over herself was not in her immediate agenda.

Not moving her eyes off of the tray in front of her, she slowly placed a foot outwards. The she moved the other one. Then the first one again.

She smiled. She was actually managing to carry this thing and not make a mess everywhere. And walk with it no less. That was something to be proud of.

"Halt"

Amaya had her attention ripped away from the tray and upwards to the two guards standing by the door. She did her best not to drop the tea pot and cups in the process.

"Who is it that wishes to interrupt the Espada meeting?" one of the guards asked her sternly.

"Err..." Amaya tried to find her voice. "Amaya Silbido, Numeros sixty-three"

She waited. The guards didn't move. She held the tray higher up and indicated it to the stone-like guards.

"I was told to bring tea here" she smiled slightly nervous of the situation.

Silence.

Amaya sweat-dropped.

Relief swarmed over her and she sighed when one of the guards finally nodded and the giant door swung open. Then she realised she had to walk again and risk the dreaded dropping of the tray once more. She gulped and stepped into the room. Darkness swallowed her as the door shut noisily behind her. She looked around the room.

The Espada were all staring at her. She noticed with regret that so were Aizen and the two other Shinigami.

This was not comfortable.

"You're late" Aizen smirked as he spoke. His voice echoed off of the high ceiling and Amaya did not like the sensation it created.

"My apologies, Aizen-dono" she said quickly before attempting to bow. She only stopped the tray from slipping out of her hands just in time. Aizen waved a hand dismissively and Amaya realised that maybe this would be a good time to start walking again. She glared at the tray focused while bringing each foot in turn forwards. Before she knew it she was at the other end of the room, standing beside Aizen's chair.

Using all of her skill, she placed the tray down on the table. She picked up one of the cups and set it in front of Aizen. She then proceeded to lift up the pot of tea and start pouring the steaming liquid into the white cup. All the while, there was silence. Amaya was so busy concentrating at the task at hand that she barely noticed. Who knew pouring tea could be so difficult?

After successfully avoiding the trap of spilling flaming liquid over the person who would surely cut her head off for such a treacherous act, she made her way around the large table, pouring tea for those who desired. Tea ladies had it tough, she decided.

It was only when she was almost finished when disaster finally struck. To be honest, she was surprised it hadn't done so sooner.

"Ahhh! You clumsy bitch!" Grimmjow leapt off of his seat and started yelling profanities at Amaya. He desperately tried to fan his legs where burning tea had inadvertently been spilled. It wasn't that big a deal, really. Only a drop. Or maybe two. Or perhaps an entire cup.

"Oh my god! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Amaya repeated the phrase in panic at realisation of what she had done. She jumped up and down like a lunatic, reaching for a napkin to try and wipe the tea clean from Grimmjow.

"Get off of me!" the now furious Espada shouted before promptly shoving Amaya away from him. She stumbled backwards. Unfortunately, some of the tea had hit the floor and did not make things easy for her.

She slipped and went flying back. A loud crack sounded as her head struck Aaroniero's mask and she briskly fell with a splat onto the hard floor.

The Espada peered at where she had fallen blankly. Grimmjow growled.

Amaya didn't stay on the ground.

Soon she was standing on her feet again, brushing her shoulders off.

"I'm ok, I'm ok" she told them quickly.

"Well, you won't be for long" Grimmjow snarled at her and stepped forwards. She yelped and suddenly decided that now might be the optimum moment to take her leave. She bowed swiftly before fleeing the room, only tripping once in her journey.

Grimmjow made to run after her. He was stopped.

"Grimmjow" his head turned and looked irritated at the man who spoke. Aizen sat with his usual cold look in his eyes. "Let us resume with the meeting"

Grimmjow grumbled and slumped back into his chair. In the rage he was feeling towards that Numeros, he had forgotten completely about the pain in his legs. They didn't even hurt that much in the first place. It was simply the principle of the thing.

---

"I have a task for you" Aizen directed calmly at a shadowy corner of the room, "Gin"

Gin ears pricked up and his grin only widened. He looked at Aizen as he sat on his throne, his trusty smirk in full use. Gin remained in the shadows as he replied.

"Oh really? And what would tha' be?"

"I want you to keep an eye on Silbido-san" Aizen answered. Gin was confused at this.

"Wha'? That clumsy ickle thing that made Grimmy-kun so upset?"

"Yes" he said simply. Gin stepped out of the shadows.

"Why?" he asked. The smile on Aizen's face deflated a little.

"She is more dangerous than she looks. She was only an Adjuchas, after all, and yet she managed to produce an entirely humanoid form when shinigamification was applied. That shows some degree of intelligence." Aizen explained a little. Gin knew he was holding back something. Simple intelligence was no reason for him to watch her. There had to be something else. But Aizen would not give up that information yet. Still, watching her may not be completely bad. There could be perks to the job.

"'Kay, I'll keep my eye on 'er"

---

Amaya brushed a stray strand of deep red hair from her face as she looked down at the memos she was to pass on to others. The straight bangs that completely covered the left side of her face basically rendered that eye useless. But that didn't make much difference to her sight anyway. The only thing she had problems with because of it was judging depth. Maybe that was one of the reasons for her inelegance.

It wasn't her fault she was so maladroit. Unlucky things just seemed to happen around her.

Most of the time, she wished they wouldn't. Like today at the Espada meeting, they could sometimes be a bit of a pain.

She ran her finger along the small strip of white under her right eye that comprised of the remains of her hollow mask. Something she always did when concentrating. She read the names written on each of the memos carefully, trying to decide which one was most important. She guessed the one to Yammy must be, since he was the only Espada on the list, but then again, was a notice to go pick up his laundry really more important than one telling a Numeros to bring Wonderwice a fresh diaper.

This really was a puzzle.

"Ya know, ya won't get much done by just starin' at 'em"

A small 'eep!' escaped Amaya's mouth at the sudden presence of another. She spun around to face them, eyes wide. Gin stood in front of her, the wide grin on his mask of a face.

"Ich- Ichimaru-sama! I-" she stammered nervously. She didn't like being around powerful people. Somehow, they always seemed to bring out the clumsy side of her. "My apologies"

She bowed lowly and sure enough the evil was set loose. The long straight tresses of her red hair brushed the spotless floor. This wasn't a problem until she tried to stand upright again. In her anxious shuffling she had inadvertently stepped on a section of the hair and the ripping pain against her skull when she pulled upwards made her stumble backwards.

Gin watched amused as her backside struck the floor.

Amaya groaned.

Why was she so god-forsakenly idiotic in her movements?

Then she realised why she had been bowing in the first place. She immediately got to her feet and looked at Gin.

"Um, did you want to speak to me, Ichimaru-sama?" she asked quietly, trying to replace the memory of her falling on her ass once again with a more pleasant thought. She failed and the image continued to replay in her mind, as if set on loop.

"Not really, just wonderin' wha' everyone was doin'" he said. Amaya gulped. It had been a straight two minutes now. It was almost time for another one of her stupid attacks.

Sure enough, it arrived right on time.

---

**Okies, I know that weren't too good or anything, but I'm still trying to get into this story really. It will pick up pace again, I promise.**

**I'm currently drawing a picture of Amaya. I've done all the outlining, now I just need to colour it. It should be up on my deviantart soon.**

**Reviews are good  
****They never would  
****Be gansta in da hood  
****And that's why you should  
****Send me one... nould**

**I can rhyme... honestly... **


	3. Spiders & Pocky

**Knocked Up is a shit film. The jokes are awful, the story is cliché, the acting is bad, the character development is unrealistic, the writing is simply crap. Basically I don't like it. I don't like Pulse either. Bad acting, unoriginal plot, no character development at all, plain unscary thriller moments, cliché horror characters, bad effects, rubbish ending. Simple shit in the movie pile. Why am I discussing these movies? Coz I watched them at a friend's house today. Another friend, Cat, rented them. She has bad choice in films. **

**But then again, I'm just really critical about my movies. I like proper scripts with proper acting, not crappy Hollywood failures! Maybe I should be a film critic when I'm older.**

**Chapter 2: Spiders and pocky**

---

Sure enough, it arrived right on time.

First she felt just a tickling against her leg. Then she made the mistake of looking down to see what it was.

Amaya screamed and jumped into the air rapidly. She shook her leg wildly about and tried to dislodge the small black hollow spider that had made its way to her calf muscle. Of course, her wicked clumsy side took advantage of this moment.

In her hopping madness she managed to trip and fell forwards. To her surprise, she didn't feel the cold ground hit her head as she usually did. She opened her eyes that had been plastered shut and looked up.

"Hiya, Maya-kun"

In her daze she had forgotten that Gin had even been there, so it was only natural that when she fell it was straight into his arms. He peered down at her with those arched eyes and smiled. She just stared back.

"Is it gone?" she whispered taking no notice of the inappropriate situation she was in. Gin tilted his head to the side quizzically.

"The spider?" Amaya nodded silently in reply. "Nope"

At this word Amaya jumped back into the air again, firmly shut her eyes and hugged herself for comfort.

"Get. It. Off. Me." She shook as she breathed the sentence out. "Now! Now! Now!"

She felt something else brush against her leg and then there was nothing. Slowly, she opened one eye and looked down. The black fiend of doom was scurrying away, having been knocked away by Gin's lethargic swipe. She opened the other eye and relaxed.

Then she realised what had just happened.

She immediately tensed up again. She looked down and started blabbering.

"I'm so sorry, Ichimaru-sama. It was completely disrespectful of me to do that. I should have just ignored it. Please forgive me. It was totally in-"

"Ah, it's nothin'" Gin cut her rampant ramblings short. She turned her head upwards again and saw that he did indeed look as if he wasn't bothered by the scene. Amaya sighed and let a small smile cross her face. "Not a fan of spiders, I take it?"

"They have too many legs"

"How bout octopi, they have lotsa legs?" Gin asked in a tone that made Amaya uncertain of whether he was mocking her or not.

"They're alright, I guess, they're not really legs, more tentacles" she answered carefully despite her doubts on his seriousness. It was better to seem like a stupid idiot than to seem like a disrespectful idiot. If possible, Gin grinned wider.

"How bout foxes?" he said suspiciously. Amaya felt the voice he was using was a bit more sardonic than usual. She searched her mind for something to say.

"Err, yeah, they're cute, I guess" she finally replied, being very cautious about what she was saying. Apparently, that was the correct answer.

"Tha' means I'm cute, don't it?"

"Err" Amaya didn't know what to say to that. Was this a trick or something? Gin stood and waited for an answer. Luckily for Amaya, she wasn't given a chance to give one. At that moment a rather flustered looking arrancar approached them and bowed to Gin.

"Ichimaru-sama, Tousen-sama wishes to speak to you immediately" they said out-of-breath. Gin had been difficult to find. They had spent the best part of half an hour running around the place searching for him. It may have been easier if he was where he was meant to be.

"Ooo, wha' about?" Gin asked in the happy voice that rung with slight tease.

"I am not certain, Ichimaru-sama, I think it may have something to do with a grapefruit and Tousen-sama's sandals" Gin let out a small giggle at the news. Amaya wondered what he had done this time. What _could_ he have done with a grapefruit and Tousen's sandals?

"Okies, see ya Maya-kun" he said before following the other arrancar down the corridor. When he was a few meters away he spoke up again, without looking back. "Maya-kun, I'd go for the one ta Yammy-kun first, if I were you"

"Of course, Ichimaru-sama" Amaya spoke through her surprise. He knew what she was doing. How could he? There was something strange about him, more so than any of the other already eccentric characters around. He was dangerous, there was no doubting that.

And yet, on some level, Amaya liked it.

---

_Knock. Knock._

"Whaaaa'?"

"There's someone at the door"

"Oh"

"Enter"

"Amaya Silbido, I have a message for Yammy-san" Amaya said after opening the plain door and stepping into the dark room. Ulquiorra sat at a table reading what appeared to be a book on garbage. Yammy was sitting next to him. He was drawing on a piece of paper with red crayon. The drawings looked rather childlike, but Amaya thought she could make out the distinct shape of a body with its head cut off and blood spurting everywhere.

"A message? What is it?" Yammy asked while adding to the mess of picture blood.

"Your laundry is ready to be picked up from the cleaning department"

Yammy stopped scribbling and looked up at her.

"My laundry? Ulquiorra, did you hear that? My laundry is ready to pick up!" he announced sounding what could only be described as excited. Amaya did not see what was so great about laundry. It was just clothes that had been washed, after all. Obviously, Ulquiorra shared the same opinion, although he chose to voice that opinion.

"Your laundry... is trash"

"Whaa'? Ulquiorra, my laundry isn't trash! How could you say that? My laundry is very special to me!" Yammy did sound actually hurt by Ulquiorra's blatant disrespect for his beloved laundry. Amaya watched confused, wondering if she should just leave or if that would improper. Yammy was still complaining to Ulquiorra when she noticed something. "It's like the crayons; they're key to life!"

Her nose twitched. The alluring aroma that was being carried through the air reached her nostrils and sent a shiver down her spine. Soon she found her feet had left the ground and she was gliding through the air, her nose leading the way.

She reached her pray. Her eyes turned to happy sparkles that shone in the dark.

"Pocky!" she screamed delighted at her find. A maniacal laugh escaped her lips as she crouched over the small box in the corner of the room. It would have looked like she was an evil scientist that had just discovered the recipe for life itself. Ulquiorra wouldn't have been surprised if she suddenly started yelling 'It's alive!' at the top of her lungs.

She didn't. Instead, she simply lifted her hands into the air before swiping them down and ripping the box to shreds in order to reach its contents. Cardboard flew into the air in all directions, obscuring the scene. When the scraps cleared less than thirty seconds later, there sat a very pleased looking Amaya, a ring of chocolate around her mouth and crumbs littering the floor. A smug smile was on her face. No traces of the pocky remained.

"That was not yours to devour" Amaya snapped out of her pocky-fuelled dream at Ulquiorra's calm voice. The smile left her mouth. She had no idea what she had just done but had some vague idea that it was probably to do with pocky. There were two curses of her brain. One, her obvious clumsiness. Two, her fanatical love of chocolate coated biscuit sticks. Somehow, one of these crimes always seemed to catch up with her.

"Err..." Amaya's mouth flapped open and close like a goldfish. Every time she discovered a reasonable excuse for what she had done she realised it would be no use. The best one she could come up with was that she had severe diabetes and so urgently needed to top up her blood sugar levels, eating someone else's pocky was the simplest way to do this. But then again, she could have at least asked. Realising this, instead of the excuse tactic, she opted for another. Distraction. "Look! There's a killer shrew!"

"Where?" Yammy exclaimed as he turned around ready to punch the lights out of this killer shrew. He remained alert and his eyes scanned the darkness for any traces of movement. Ulquiorra sighed.

"Yammy, there is no shrew" he told the other Espada. Yammy looked doubtful and stayed on edge, although he did return his gaze back to the strange Numeros that had just eaten all of Ulquiorra's pocky. Ulquiorra spoke again and instructed Amaya with a faint hint of distress on his face "Leave"

"Yes sir!" Amaya stumbled to her feat and ran out of the room as fast as she could. She did hit her head on the door before actually opening it, but those kinds of injuries were normal for her.

Only when Amaya was safely out of the room did Ulquiorra relax.

"Wow, Ulquiorra, you're taking this well. Usually you'd try to murder me just for touching your poc-" Yammy didn't get to finish his sentence. Ulquiorra had run over to the corner where the deliciousness had so recently been and fell onto his knees. He then started crying. Each green tear adding to the lines that were permanently sketched onto his face.

"My pocky!"

---

Gin had not gone to explain to Tousen why his sandals were at the bottom of a pit filled with grapefruit, the fruit Tousen could not even pretend to look at without retching. Instead, he had decided to do something a lot more fun.

He had watched from the darkness as the white material flurried in the space as she ran from the room. The long tail of her skirt fluttered behind her, magnifying the short cut it had at the front. The clean white of the spaghetti strapped top was low on her back, showing the small round hole that permeated straight through her body above her left breast. The red of the belt and edges of the top matched her hair perfectly. Alterations in the arrancar uniform were common, and Amaya's was just another example of this. There was nothing special there.

But she was strange. As Aizen had said, she must be clever, that was obvious from her human form. And yet, she did not show this in her actions at all. In fact, she seemed dense. The best word Gin could come up with was ditzy. Why was Aizen interested in her?

"What did you learn today, Gin?" Gin's attention was focused onto the man standing by the railings, looking out onto his new kingdom's black sky.

"Ya make it sounds as if I were at school and yar my mother"

"That analogy would appear to be accurate in some respects" Aizen said while still looking at the crescent moon.

"She's fonda pocky" Gin informed him. "And she don't like spiders"

"Was there anything else?" Aizen asked, not sounding at all as if he thought the information Gin had given him was useless, as most would believe. Gin thought back over the day.

"Hmm, nope"

"She may be of some use to us" he spoke thoughtfully. Gin liked the sound of that. Something was happening here. If nothing else, it gave him something to do.

"I'll keep on watchin' 'er, then?"

A smile twitched onto Aizen's face.

"Yes"

---

**Again quite short, and not that good. Soz it's taking me a while to update atm, but Christmas is a busy time for everyone.**

**That is how Ulquiorra got those tearlines on his face btw. He cries over every lost pocky stick he may have had. Aww, the poor ickle emo boy.**

**Oh yeah, I forgot to say this, but I doubt this story will have a happy ending. What I'm thinking of at the moment won't.**

**Koala's sit in trees  
****Unlike anemones  
****But they cant now  
****For unlike cows  
****They have no limbs, you see?  
****This means they dont review  
****And so I do not have a clue  
****What they think of me**


	4. The Test

**Happy New Year! I hope you all had a good new year's eve. Oh the joys of music, Malibu, and monopoly! Did you make any resolutions? My resolution was to break my new year's resolution, and then I confused myself. Take that society!**

**Chapter 3: The test**

---

John Smith is a common name, especially for Canadians.

No arrancar would ever carry the name of John Smith. Aizen had decided this a long time ago. If he ever discovered an arrancar of this name there was no doubt that he would have to personally make sure that they were disposed of. Only those with exceptional names would do. Even now this thought still plagued his mind.

All arrancar had to be exceptional, in every way.

He needed a way to insure this. He needed to insure no unremarkable slipped through the net.

There were many ways to do this, but one in particular caught his eye. This may be because it would be interesting. Or it may just be because it would guarantee that Gin kept out of trouble for a few days. Gin really needed things to do here.

And so it was decided. There would be a test.

---

Amaya drew in a deep breath and prepared herself for the unknown behind the door in front of her. One by one, every Numeros had been called in order from youngest to oldest to this room. They would usually be in there a while, and then would leave and continues with work as normal. That meant whatever it was in this room couldn't be too bad, right? Surely they would continue like that if they had been scarred for life.

Every Numeros, without exception. Thirty six had already been and gone. Now it was the turn of the sixty-third Numeros.

Amaya was nervous yet again. She seemed to have been that a lot recently.

Gathering her courage into a big ball and placing it firmly in the centre of her thoughts, she knocked.

The door silently swung open, revealing the darkness inside.

"Um, hello?" she said while stepping through the doorway. The door closed behind her. A light flickered to life in the centre of the room. It shone down and illuminated the contents of the room. It was bizarre. A couch and an armchair sat side by side. The only other thing in the room was what was parked on the armchair.

"'Ello, Maya-kun"

---

Tousen was not a happy bunny.

Not only had one of his only two pairs of sandals been completely ruined by the irremovable stench of grapefruit, but now some of his other prized possessions were missing. Number one on his list was one of his visors. Other objects included some socks, several pens and a clipboard. And then there were the sticky, still wet paint stains spattered across his entire room.

Sometimes he regretted coming here with Aizen. Actually, that wasn't true. He had no problem with Aizen; it was the other person that bothered him.

The only person that could be behind all these disappearances from his belongings could be Gin. No one else would dare interfere.

But the question was; what was he doing with them?

--

"Sit, sit, Maya-kun"

Amaya stared at Gin. There was only one word that went through her brain.

Huh?

What was he doing here? Giving that creepy grin? With that clipboard in his hands?

"Maya-kun, whatcha doin'?" Gin looked at her from his place on the armchair.

"Oh, err," Amaya was knocked out of her shock, "nothing, Ichimaru-sama"

She bowed and walked over to the couch where she sat as she had previously been instructed. Gin watched every movement she made and needless to say, it made Amaya a tad uncomfortable. And when Amaya was uncomfortable, bad stuff happened.

It was less than a second after sitting when the devil was released.

Amaya tried to cross her legs and didn't realise her feet had been holding the tail of her skirt on the ground until it was too late. The movement of her leg was suddenly ceased by the white material pinned to the ground. She was caught of guard and lost her balance. A loud thud sounded as her head connected with the hard floor.

"Ya alright?"

Amaya's head popped up again. Big, fake laughter came out of her mouth.

"Hahaha! I'm fine! Hahaha!" she lied through the embarrassment while getting up and once more attempting to sit on the couch, this time with more care. Inside her head screams were resounding, telling her how much of an idiot she looked. Amongst them was a giant mocking laugh teasing her. She just told it to shut up.

Gin seemed to get past the interruption pretty quickly.

"So, Maya-kun, ya wanna lie down?"

"For what?" Amaya practically shouted back before she could stop herself. Gin's visible happiness only increased.

"That's what ya usually do" he told her matter-of-factly.

"That's what I usually do for what?"

"Oh, ya know"

"No, I don't _know_"

"When yar talkin' to a shrink. Today, Maya-kun, I'm a psychiatrist!"

Amaya blinked.

"Huh?"

"Yep, Aizen-kun wantsa full evaluation of the arrancar, includin' head stuff" Gin nodded as he explained. Then he started giggling. "Ya didn't think I meant anything else, didya?"

Amaya just sat blankly staring into nothingness. She was pretty sure she currently didn't have any eyes left after that. To put it simply, she felt like even more of an idiot. Of course, Gin found this very amusing. He could have even more fun with this. He leant forwards and placed a finger to her chin.

"Coz ya know, we could always do tha' instead, if ya wanted?" he asked quietly. Her eyes returned in a flash, except they still were not their usual selves. Large circles with simple dots in them took up most of her face at the shock she was feeling. She didn't move. Gin's grin got wider than should have been possible.

"Jus' kidding!" he cried happily before sitting back in his seat.

Amaya cracked like stone. She tipped sideways rigidly before falling flat onto the floor once more. Gin sat patiently for ten minutes before she finally decided to crawl her way back up the side of the couch. She sat like a balloon that had been let go before it was tied properly and waited for Gin to say something.

"Ok, question time!" Amaya only nodded feebly in reply, still in utter shock. Gin suddenly held a card up out of nowhere. "Whaddya see?"

Amaya looked at the card. Splats of different colours were splashed across its surface. It was clear to her that Gin had had fun throwing paint buckets around. She just hoped it wasn't in a place he shouldn't have. She peered at it a bit longer before speaking up.

"A tree" she answered. Gin turned the card around and held it out so he could get a look at it. He ended up turning it at a ninety degree angle, and then a hundred and eighty, and then two hundred and seventy.

"Aint heard tha' one yet" he mused before promptly dropping the card and picking up another. "How bout this one?"

Needless to say, Amaya was not completely pleased with his reaction to her first answer. It made her anxious. She had to keep reminding herself that for these types of tests there was no right answer. But still, if she was the first person to say such a simple thing as a tree...

"Two mutant fish feasting on the blood of the innocent" She winced after saying it. Maybe she had gone a bit overboard with trying to make it less simple.

"That's wha' I see too!" Amaya blinked and Gin picked up a new card. This one she would try answering honestly again. She didn't want any more insight into that twisted mind sitting near her.

"Err, two dogs running out of an explosion"

"How bout this?"

"A giant ant staring at me"

"And thi-"

Gin didn't get to finish his question. Before he knew it, the card had left his hands. It took him a second to register where it had gone. Amaya sat hunched over, looking around her shiftily, and nibbling away at the corner of the sheet.

"Pocky" she said quietly, still nibbling away. Gin wrote something down on the clipboard. Amaya kept on mumbling to herself about how it was her pocky, and hers alone, no one would take her pocky away from her. Sadly, her mumblings would not come to pass.

Gin reached out, took the corner of the card that had not yet been covered in drool, and started pulling it away from her. Amaya tried to follow. She didn't notice that soon she wasn't sitting on the couch anymore but was instead trying to float through thin air. It hurt when the solid floor struck against her shins and palms. At least it knocked her out of her dreamland where card could be used as a substitute for pocky.

Gin covered the card before she got another chance to look at it.

Amaya sat and looked ashamed of her actions.

"Next test" Gin said before throwing a piece of material at her. It landed in her lap and she picked it up cautiously. It appeared to be a mutated sock that had black dots drawn on and two pieces of cloth sticking out.

"Um, what's this?" she asked. Gin held a similar object in his own hands.

"Itsa rabbit" he answered before pulling the sock over his hand and holding it up so that the two pieces of cloth hung down from the top. If Amaya squinted she could sort of make out the shape of a rabbit with the two dots being eyes. "Think of it as yar true feelings"

Amaya copied Gin and held up the sock puppet.

"Itsa nice night, aint it?" Gin said while moving the toe of the sock to form a mouth speaking.

"Err," Amaya wasn't sure what to do. This all seemed slightly ridiculous. Uncertainly, she followed Gin's lead and started using the deformed beast of a puppet. "I suppose"

"My name is Aizen, I like tea, I also like meetings, I 'specially like tea at meetings" Amaya stared at Gin. He looked to be having barrels of fun mocking his leader. She didn't really want to interrupt him. He then switched to someone else. "My name is Ulquiorra, I like trash, trash is good, crying over pocky's good too, crying over trashy pocky's my hobby. My name's Kaname, justice is the best, ya can't live without justice, if there was a lake fulla justice I'd jump right in. My name's-"

"Ichimaru-sama?" Amaya butted in on Gin's joy, not quite sure if it was the right thing to do. Gin's head snapped up and he looked at her.

"Oh, yea" he said normally before whipping off the sock puppet and discarding it to the side. It lay unloved on the floor. Amaya simply took her version of the creepy bunny monster off and handed it back to Gin. Gin looked down at the clipboard again. "Whats next?"

His head turned upwards so that he was looking at her. Amaya felt a little unsafe with the grin he was giving her. She swallowed.

"Here ya are, put this on" Gin passed her an even stranger object than the sock rabbit. It was small, shiny, and most importantly, very familiar.

"Does Tousen-sama know you've got his visor?"

Gin only started giggling as a reply. This did not help calm Amaya's nerves at all.

Very slowly, watching Gin up until the last moment, she put the visor on. She was met with blackness.

"Now what?" she asked.

"Now ya gotta imagine yar in a building" she heard Gin tell her. She nodded. "Whatsa building like?"

Amaya thought for a second before replying.

"It's old, and has some sort of colourful wallpaper on all the walls, it's pretty ugly actually"

"There's a window, what d'ya see outta it?"

"Err, trees"

"Okies, ya go out the door and follow a path. Ya meet a wall. Whatsa wall like?"

"Brick, with ivy growing up it"

"Ya keep going down the path. What's round ya?"

"Tall coniferous trees in neat lines"

"Ya get to a body of liquid. What's it?"

"A vast lake with small waves going up the pebble shor-" Amaya paused mid-sentence. "What are you doing?"

Gin let out another giggle and the slight pressure against the visor evaporated. Amaya took the moment to remove the visor and let her eyes work again. Gin was standing in front of her, grinning as usual. She looked down at the visor in her hands. She held back a smile at seeing the two cartoon eyes drawn on. Gin twirled the permanent marker around in his fingers.

"You know Tousen-sama won't be pleased at seeing this"

"But Kana-kun won't see it, will he?"

Amaya couldn't help but surrender to the smile.

"You're not very nice"

---

"So Ulquiorra saw all the inkblots as trash, Stark wouldn't participate with the puppets, and Grimmjow imagined the body of liquid as blood pouring from kittens' throats"

"Yep" Gin answered. Aizen looked up from the clipboard with Gin's notes on and smirked. There had been nothing to worry about. His Espada definitely were exceptional.

"Aizen-sama" Aizen's attention was taken away from the results of the test and instead focused on the person who had entered the room. Tousen stood with a less than happy look on his face.

"What is it, Kaname?" he asked while taking a sip of heavenly tea. Tousen stepped forwards.

"I demand that justice be served!" he shouted.

"Well, yar usually do" Gin spoke up from the corner of the room. Tousen turned to him. Gin tried not to laugh at the cartoon puppy dog eyes on his visor. Tousen obviously noticed something was wrong.

"What are you laughing at now, Ichimaru?"

"Nothing, nothing, Kana-kun"

Tousen sighed and turned back to Aizen.

"He's used the permanent marker again, hasn't he?"

"Yes" Aizen answered plainly. Tousen simply turned and walked out of the room, not even bothering to explain why he was there in the first place. There really was no point where Gin was concerned. He was a hopeless case. He was sure that one day, justice would have its vengeance on him. Until that day, he would have to wait.

"Gin" Aizen's deep voiced echoed off the high ceiling and bounced into Gin's ears.

"Yep?"

Aizen sat and stared seriously into the dark.

The smirk had disappeared.

This was definitely important.

"Get me some more tea"

---

**Sorry that took so long to update, but I've been ill in bed over the past few days with the flu. This is the first time I've actually been able to get on the computer. So be grateful that I put this up at all.**

**That may explain why I'm not certain if that chapter was any good or not. If it wasn't, blame my swirling head, not me!**

**My poetry is bad  
****It makes me sad  
****But it helps me out  
****I've got the flu  
****So please review  
****That's what this poem's about**


	5. Can Deference Be Shiny?

**OK so I've realised just how OOC a lot of my characters are in this. It's just so much more fun to write that way.**

**This is dedicated to my friend Rhea, or Glockenspiel as she is known on here, coz she whined about it. She also gave me the initial idea bout Grimmjow and his manliness.**

**Chapter 4: Can deference be shiny?**

---

"I have a riddle for you all"

The Espada all turned their heads and stared at the person at the end of the table. This was curious behaviour for Aizen.

"What do we get if we win?" Nnoitra immediately spoke up excited at the possible prospect of a prize, hopefully a shiny one. Stark sighed.

"You can't win at a riddle, idiot; it's not a game" he said dejectedly. Nnoitra seemed less than happy with this statement and had to fight back the urge to use that valuable tongue of his to blow Stark's lazy head off with a cero blast.

"Ok then, what do we get if we _find_ _the correct answer_?" he instead asked while still eyeing Stark up.

"My deference"

For once the smile left Nnoitra's face. That wasn't fun. You couldn't play with deference. It wouldn't squirm.

"What is the riddle?" Halibel asked in a bored voice. Aizen smiled and watched his Espada closely before disclosing the valuable question.

"White chicks come from white eggs and both brown and black chicks come from brown eggs. A rooster lays one brown egg and one white egg. What colour will the chicks definitely be?"

"That's impossible to know!" Grimmjow shouted out in protest at the blatantly unfair question.

"Ulquiorra, where do chicks come from?" Yammy asked confused.

"Trash"

"Whaaa'?"

Halibel thought she might take this one off of Ulquiorra's eloquent as ever hands.

"Well, Yammy, when a man chicken and a woman chicken love each other very much-"

"Actually the need for members of both genders is now obsolete. Some research of mine proves that-"

"Don't confuse him, Szayel"

"Only a fool would be confused by my research, Halibel"

"Do not call him a fool"

"Who asked you, emo-boy?"

"You truly are trash, Nnoitra"

"Ulquiorra, I still don't understand!"

"Well someone of such a simple mind wouldn't, would they?"

"Ulquiorra, Szayel's being mean!"

"How can you expect us to answer such an impossible question?!"

"Grimmjow, be quiet"

"And why are you sitting there all high and mighty, Zommari?"

"Can deference be shiny?"

"No, Nnoitra, deference cannot be shiny"

"Why not, Boobs?"

"Because it is not a physical object but an expressive noun used to describe attitude towards another person or being"

"Szayel, did anyone ever tell you to get a life?"

"If I did that, Grimmjow, then there would not be enough thoughts around this circle to compensate for a single mind"

"Ulquiorra, I'm confused!"

"Some beings are much akin to trash, aren't they?"

"Don't be calling me trash!"

"You're all idiots if you ask me"

"Shut it, Stark!" everyone yelled simultaneously. Then no one spoke. Aizen watched with amusement. From amidst the new found silence, Aaroniero spoke up.

"I like the dark"

Silence washed over the room. Tumbleweed rolled across the background.

"Wait," Amaya stopped pouring the tea and looked up thoughtfully. She had been ignoring the beginnings of what could only be described as a future riot and instead concentrating on the difficult task at hand. But when she realised something interesting she didn't even hesitate about voicing her reflections. "Roosters don't lay eggs"

A soft chuckle escaped Aizen's lips.

"Correct, Silbido-san"

"Ehhhh?" Grimmjow shouted as he stood up and turned to Aizen angrily, "then it was a trick question! You can't do that! It's not fair! You should have warned us! What point is there if-"

"Grimmjow" Aizen's echoing voice halted Grimmjow's complaints. A grave look was in his eyes as he placed the tea cup elegantly onto the saucer. He stared at Grimmjow. Grimmjow wanted to run away and hide behind Yammy. But he would never demean himself like Ulquiorra did. He would stand his ground.

"What?"

Aizen's piercing gaze didn't lift.

"You've been staring at my tea again"

Grimmjow's eyes widened in a mixture of shock and fear.

"No... but... it... I..."

"This does not please me" Aizen stared at Grimmjow dangerously. Grimmjow stood petrified to the spot. Nnoitra started laughing.

"Grimmy's in trouble again!" he said in a far happier voice than Grimmjow would have liked. If it wasn't for the crushing feeling of the sudden surge of riatsu crashing down upon him, he would have liked to kick that weirdo's arse in. But in the state he was, he instead fell onto his knees as Aizen sat and watched. His usual smirk reappeared and the crushing feeling stopped. Grimmjow gasped for breath.

Amaya's feet were firmly fixed to the floor, her eyes wide at the scene. She had seen it with her own eyes. Aizen had just harshly punished one of his faithful Espada simply for staring at his tea. Why?

"Silbido-san" Her head ripped up from gaping at Grimmjow and turned to Aizen once more.

"Y- Yes, Aizen-sama?"

"I would appreciate a new pot of tea"

"O- Of course" she managed to croak out before bowing and leaving. It was practically running from the room. She had to get out of there. It definitely wasn't a friendly place.

---

"Hiya, Maya-kun"

Amaya jumped at the voice and knocked into something very much solid behind her. She felt someone place their hands on her shoulders and immediately spun around at the cold touch.

"Ichimaru-sama!" she exclaimed in the surprise she was feeling. Gin lowered his arms and held them in front of him, those cold hands hidden by the sleeves of his haori.

"Ya alright?" he asked. Amaya didn't think he sounded very concerned, more amused by the idea of being able to make her jump.

"Uh, yeah" she said nervously.

"I thought ya were ill?"

Amaya gulped. As soon as fleeing from the meeting room, she had not done what was asked of her. Instead she had found someone else and told them she was feeling unwell and asked them if they would bring some more tea to Aizen and the Espada. She knew she shouldn't have lied. Shifting her duties was inexcusable. She just didn't want to be there. Truth be told, she was _afraid_ of being there.

"I was!" she quickly lied. She then looked down in embarrassment. "I mean, I'm feeling better now, thank you"

Amaya had the strong feeling Gin had already recognised what was really going on. He always gave off the impression that he knew more than he let onto. It was a bit frightening to say the least.

"Ya aint tasted anything Grimmy-kun looks at" Amaya looked up again in astonishment. So he did know. And now he was trying to explain. Did he care or was he just bored? Amaya guessed the latter was the most likely case.

"What?" she asked not understanding how having Grimmjow look at anything would alter the taste.

"It aint surprising Aizen weren't happy bout it"

"I'm not sure I understand" Amaya furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Gin didn't seem affected at all.

"I dunno, somin bout the overpowerin manliness causin the taste particles to evaporate" he said as if it were the most normal thing in the world. Amaya put a finger to her chin in thought and considered the idea of Grimmjow's manliness. She tried desperately not to fall into a pit of despair at the thought of those abs.

"Well I guess he is manly" she pondered after finally coming to her senses. She didn't really want Gin to see her true feelings about jumping on the Espada when he wasn't on guard. Normally she wouldn't have thought such vulgar things, but those abs could do strange things to a person. And tea apparently.

"That was mighty smart of ya answerin that riddle, by the way" Gin changed the topic, almost as if sensing the danger of the subject.

"Oh, no, not really, it was just a guess, I'm not clever or anything" she said quickly while waving her hands around in front of her face and shaking her head.

"Aww, don't say tha', Maya-kun" Gin leaned forwards and the sly look on his face intensified. Amaya gulped. "I bet yar very smart"

Amaya shivered as she felt one cold finger rest on her jaw line. With eyes rivalling the very size of dinner plates, she stood dead still.

"Ne?"

And that was all it took. With that lone word from Gin, Amaya abruptly jumped backwards away from him. She tripped on the hem of her skirt during the process and things went into slow motion as she plummeted rearward.

Gin only smiled as her delicate behind smacked down onto the cold ground.

"Owies!" she cried loudly while rubbing the lower part of her back. It seems that Gin chose to dismiss this fall as just another regular antic.

"What yar meant to be doing now, Maya-kun?"

Amaya turned her head back up as if remembering Gin was there at all and simply gaped.

"Eh?"

"What chore ya been told ta do?" Gin asked again. Amaya looked into the distance and thought. She had completely forgotten what she was doing before Gin appeared out of nowhere. She knew it had something to do with cleaning. But what? To clean or not to clean? That was the question.

"Umm, oh yeah" she remembered, "Del Socacchio broke through a pillar while dancing again. I'm meant to go clean it up"

"What bout me?" Gin said as Amaya realised that she hadn't yet gotten off of the ground yet and rose. She was to busy brushing her skirt down to notice him lift his hand until the fingers had actually turned her head towards him again by the chin. Amaya eyes popped out as she realised with regret just how close he was. "Can I come?"

Amaya's head went into overtime and started to melt from the pressure.

She simply nodded her answer.

---

Somewhere in Las Noches, Grimmjow was trying to enjoy a steak of raw beef. Raw beef was manly, he had been told by Szayel. He didn't know if he could trust Szayel's word, but anything was better than the current situation.

His reasoning was this; if the food he was eating was in itself manly, then it would take a much higher manliness level to be affected by his strange curse.

He put on his moody face and glared at the slab of meat on the plate in front of him. For some reason, he felt as if the meat was sizing him up, judging whether he was manly enough or not.

Grimmjow growled at it.

This beef would not defeat him.

Decidedly, he grabbed the steak and took a giant bite out of it. He immediately spat it out again.

It seems the beef had given in on this one and Grimmjow had been proclaimed the winner of the glaring match. All the good taste molecules had therefore simultaneously jumped up and fled the scene, screaming as they did so for someone to save them.

For what Szayel had failed to tell Grimmjow was that the raw beef itself was no manlier than any other food product, it was the person eating the raw beef whose manliness increased.

And so Grimmjow became even manlier than he had been previously. No food would ever be safe again.

Manliness could be a curse sometimes.

---

**Grimmy's a manly man, with manly abs of destruction, they are very distracting.**

**Holy feck on a fecking sandwich with feck on top! I got 33/40 marks in my Physics mock! LMAO! Most people got much lower than that and found it the hardest science by far, but I found it the easiest and got my best mark... I cant do biology, too many name to remember and I'm a forgetful person. Glockenspiel Rhea is simply awesome at biology, she's like my idol. Were gonna have to do a Rocky style training montage for revision before our GCSEs, her in maths and me in biology. Sweat bands all round!**

**I've also now got a DEADLINE for my astronomy coursework. It's like 3 weeks away, which is ridiculous since most of us haven't even got the materials for it yet... we've only had since June to start it...**

**Umm, no poem today, instead I shall leave you with the words of the most excellent Steven Fry;**

**'An original idea. That can't be too hard. The library must be full of them.'**

**Review?**


	6. Sexy Spanish Gazelle

**Omg this one took forever to get out! I'm really sorry. You see, as soon as I got over my illness and went into school I caught something similar and was sent back home again. So I've literally been in bed for the past five days straight. As well as that its that time of year again where every single subject decides it would be a good plan to give coursework assignments, so I've been spending what time I could be awake working.**

**Chapter 5: Sexy Spanish gazelle**

---

"Kaname"

"Yes, Aizen-sama?" Tousen asked serenely as he stood in the doorway leading out onto the great balcony where Aizen chose to spend so much of his time recently. Despite his lack of sight, he could tell that Aizen had his back to him. He was most likely just staring out at the black sky that Gin always had much interest in teasing him about; mainly in his lack of the capability to see it.

"How is Wonderwice progressing?" the echoing voice rung forth.

"He is learning the path of justice well. Soon he will be able to tell justice from the not-so-justice. That is where true justice lies"

"Well done" Aizen said. Tousen took this as his cue and turned to leave. He was stopped when Aizen continued. "One more thing, Kaname"

"What is it, Aizen-sama?"

"What..." Aizen paused. Tousen tried to recognise whether he was contemplating something or if he was adding dramatic effect. He couldn't come up with a definite answer on the matter. "... do you think of my voice?"

"Your voice?" Tousen repeated. He was taken off guard with that question. Why would Aizen be thinking about such a trivial thing? Despite the obvious reason of not having anything to so at all except do some evil plotting or infiltrating. Aizen was a very infiltrating person.

"Yes" Aizen said before reiterating his point. "I mean, it's not too much is it? The echo and all? I personally think it has just the right amount of echo, but others may disagree with that. What do you think? Should I tone down the echo a bit? Or maybe it needs more? I am not certain"

"It is fine" Tousen answered with a slight sigh. How could his leader be so self-conscious about such unimportant details? He heard Aizen move and presumed that he had turned around and was now facing him. "It is a voice that commands justice"

"Good" Tousen could just imagine Aizen smirking away with the tone he was using. "You must realise what an important topic this is, Kaname. After all, a man's prestige is depicted by the echo that he controls"

"Of course, Aizen-sama"

---

The walk through Las Noches was quiet. Actually, apart from the ringing sounds of footsteps as Amaya's and Gin's feet struck the solid ground and the occasional hurricane as an arrancar run passed them in a hurry, it was silent. Gin seemed perfectly happy with the lack of noise. Amaya on the other hand... Silence was uncomfortable. And uncomfortable was not good.

The journey had been perilous. Every few minutes had been broken by a thump or a crash as she yet again embarrassed herself. First she had tripped over the hem of her skirt, then her own feet, until finally she was forced into tripping over nothing at all. _Nothing at all_. Surely only retards could do something as stupid as that?

Amaya could only be grateful when she saw the sight of the ruins of a newly Dordonii-ified pillar. That is to say; broken. Then the full scale of the scene hit her and her relief vanished.

"I'm supposed to clear this up?" she breathed out still trying to take the full view of the wreckage before her into her brain. How could one person create such a mess? White lumps of stone were crumpled onto the ground and strewn across the entire corridor. The only way to get through would be the climb over the mounds and squeeze through the miniscule gap at the very top. No wonder this was listed as urgent on the list.

"It aint much" Gin commented. Amaya rotated her head and stared at him in disbelief. She was certain that she was going to pop into fragments pretty soon.

"Aint... much...?"

"I'm sure ya can work somin out in that clever little head of yars" he smiled at her. Her face was blank as she realised what he was saying; he was not here to help.

"Thanks" she muttered quietly to the floor.

"Yar welcome" Amaya simply sighed and set her mind to contemplating how in all of Hueco Mundo she was supposed to shift this rubble. She peered at it intently, almost as if staring at it would make it disintegrate. But that wouldn't work for Amaya. It might for Grimmjow and his manliness, but not for Amaya.

"I suppose I could just cero it away," she pondered out loud, "but then again, that may just create more mess than before."

"It might" Gin agreed beside her. He certainly was being helpful in this matter.

"Do you have any ideas?" she tried asking, desperately hoping he may give in and offer some useful advice.

"Nope" Amaya knew that was coming. She sighed.

"Oh well, guess I'll have to shift it by hand" she said in defeat before walking over to the large pile of debris. She had just picked up an especially heavy rock and placed it to the side when she fell backwards in surprise. Rubble flew up into the air as something large and extremely energetic leaped out of the ruins.

"Look at me dance!"

Amaya blinked from where she had fallen to on the ground. Dordonii Alessandro Del Socacchio stood proudly with his hands on his hips atop a large boulder, surveying the area. Apart from the thick layer of dust coating him, he didn't appear to have any injuries at all, which was odd seeing as he had just been trapped underneath a giant pile of stone.

"Oh, Del Socacchio-san, I, err, didn't see you there" Amaya said uncertainly to the Privaron Espada who had now taken it upon himself to start floundering around in what she presumed was his dance. Gin just watched looking amused at the entire scene.

"How could you not see me? I am Dordonii! Look at me dance!"

Dordonii continued to prance about the wreckage, kicking high into the air and swirling around on the spot at various times.

Amaya sat without any facial expression on her face. By now, they had all vanished into oblivion.

"I am strong, like a bear!" he started rambling. "And yet I am elegant, like a butterfly!"

Amaya blinked.

"I can leap like a gazelle! My legs are tight like a tiger! Look at me leap!"

Amaya blinked.

"And I have a sexy Spanish accent! I am very sexy with my sexy voice! I am a sexy Spaniard with legs of a gazelle!"

Amaya blinked.

"Look at how I am transformed into a being of grace and beauty with a simple turn of my tight legs!"

Amaya recovered somewhat and slowly stood.

"I am a sexy Spanish gazelle!"

"Um, Del Socacchio-san?" Amaya interrupted his rampant displays of Spanish gazelliness. He paused and looked at her. He then jumped through the air with a powerful kick from those tight legs of his and landed in front of her. He leant down so he was at her eye-level.

"What is it, niňa?" he asked with a wave of his hands. Amaya tried not to be insulted by him calling her _girl_. She wasn't a child, dammit.

"Err," she started again, pushing down the urge to kick him _in between_ those tight Spanish legs of his. "You like Spanish things, right?"

This set him off again. He twirled backwards on his toes with his hands in the air and resumed his leaping antics.

"Why of course, I am Spanish, after all. You can tell immediately by my sexy Spanish accent!" he sung while still dancing.

"Only I saw some castanets on the other side of Las Noches, were they yours?"

Dordonii halted midair and rotated his head to stare wide eyed at Amaya.

"Cas... ta... nets?" he asked slowly. Amaya nodded.

"I knew Gantenbainne stole them! My gazelle senses were tingling and they are never wrong!" Dordonii cried in triumph before promptly taking his leave and dashing off to search for his beloved castanets. Amaya breathed a sigh of relief in not having to deal with a crazed Spaniard anymore.

"Ya didn't see any castanets"

Amaya looked up at Gin. He sounded so certain of that fact it made him appear even more suspicious if possible.

"How do you know?" she asked carefully. Sure, she hadn't seen any, she made it up just to get rid of Dordonii, but how could Gin know that? Gin reached into his haori and then pulled his hands out again. Amaya stared at the small circular objects in his hands.

"I already took 'em" he said too happily. He clapped the castanets once. Amaya went back to clearing some of the debris, not wanting to be the one to tell Gin kleptomania was immoral and a serious problem. Gin just stood and watched as she lifted rock after rock off of the main pile and put them to one side. Then she tried to shift one piece in particular.

It wasn't that large, and it shouldn't have been that heavy. So it was therefore surprising when Amaya found she even when she used all of her strength and weight it wouldn't budge.

She leaned backwards and tugged at it. It shook slightly but still didn't move.

What the hell? There wasn't anything pinning it down. She had moved larger fragments only moments ago. So then why was this one so goddamn heavy?

She made sure she had a firm hold on it and pulled again. If this continued any longer then she was sure that blisters would start appearing on her hands. She winced and heaved at the rock using her weight to stop herself from toppling forwards.

Gin thought this was the ideal moment to release the spirit pressure from above the rock.

Amaya let out a yelp as she and the rock went flying backwards.

Backwards, to where a certain ex-captain of the Gotei thirteen was standing.

Gin caught the girl skilfully and stopped her from crashing down onto the floor.

Amaya opened her eyes slowly when she realised that she was no longer falling. She looked up only to find Gin grinning back down at her, his arms supporting her around the waist. A stray strand of crimson hair had found its way over to the wrong side of her face. She blew it up and back to where it should have been.

"Err, thanks" she told a still smiling Gin.

"No prob-" Gin was cut off when the rock that had previously been so mysteriously heavy finished its journey through the air. It was sheer bad luck that that end happened to be in the middle of Amaya's head.

It struck with a loud thump. It bounced off. It made a knocking noise as it landed back down on the ground. It finally lay still.

Amaya found that little stars were circling her head. She also found that little blue birds were trying to eat those stars.

From her place still in Gin's hold, her head swayed about on her shoulders, trying to sort itself out from amidst the horrific scenes of star-eating birds. She blinked repeatedly, not actually seeing anything as her vision slipped in and out of blackness.

"Ya alright?" Gin asked happily. He was finding this thoroughly entertaining. He didn't get a response and Amaya continued to lie rather limply in his grasp.

So there he was. Alone with a pretty arrancar sprawled across his arms. But more importantly, he could do whatever he wanted and she wouldn't be able to stop him. What was a self-respecting Shinigami traitor to do?

The answer was apparently simple.

Amaya was brought straight back to reality and her eyes became the size of Nnoitra's hood as she felt the touch against her lips. She didn't move but simply stood there blankly as the full realisation of what was happening started to sink in. She knew what she should do. She should have pushed him away and made up some excuse to get her out of there.

But for some reason, what her brain was telling her to do just wasn't registering with her body. It was completely above her why she then chose to close her eyes and return his action. She didn't even care if he was one creepy bastard anymore. She was kissing him.

Far sooner than Amaya would have liked, she felt Gin's lips leave her own. She opened her eyes and saw him grinning back down at her again. This time he looked a little more smug than before.

"I... I... I..." Apparently the nerves connecting Amaya's brain to her mouth had short-circuited. Actually, it was more the entire mound of brain cells that had done that. She didn't know what to do. She felt dizzy. Somewhere at the back of her mind she felt Gin's hands still around her waist. Somewhere in the corner of her vision she was replaying the previous moment. Her mind now felt even worse than it had done after being hit with the colossal rock.

Dramatically and quite suddenly her head flopped backwards and her thoughts were overcome with nothingness.

Gin's grin only widened at the sight of the woman fainting in his arms.

"Oops"

---

**OMG I actually got their first kiss in the chapter I was planning! That is big news for me! Let's throw a party!**

**I think if Gin kissed me I would faint too. The overpowering smex levels would be too much to bare! –dramatic swooning– **

**I personally think Aizen has just the right amount of echo in his voice. It is a very smex-filled voice, just as he is a very infiltrating person. He will infiltrate anything he desires! **

**I found it really hard to write this chap as every ten minutes I'd stop and start laughing my ass off thinking about Hueco Mundo Cup(search it on youtube, it is jokes)'s portrayal of Dordonii. He is... Antonio Banderas! He really is, except for one crucial difference between them both; Antonio Banderas is drool worthy, Dordonii really is not. **

**Antonio Banderas could cut my Z anyday...**

**If you review  
****We can go to the zoo  
:) :)**


	7. Family Values

**So... much... coursework...**

**Gah, sorry again for the wait, but I've got major long coursework assignments due in for Maths, Astronomy and Art this week, so please bare with me.**

**Chapter 6:**** Family values**

---

Amaya's nose twitched.

There was some strange smell in the air around her.

She couldn't place it exactly.

It was salty, but on some levels refreshing. She was certain that she had smelt something similar before, but for the life of her couldn't remember where. She finally gave in and admitted defeat on this.

She didn't know.

The second thing that came to mind about this place, after the smell, was that it was dark. Or maybe dark wasn't correct. It was more plain blackness. Even in the darkest of places there is always some glimmer of light, some faint shadow of a colour. The only way this could be avoided is if there were no objects or forms. However, darkness can only exist if there is something to compare it to, something creating the dark, separating it from the light.

True darkness just doesn't exist. It isn't possible.

And yet now Amaya saw no colour, no highlights, no shadows.

Just black.

Where was she? Was this indeed real? Maybe it was all just a dream? That had to be it. This blackness couldn't be genuine.

God her head felt weird. It was as if she was trudging through a thick layer of butter icing in her mind. She felt dizzy, as if the black world was swirling around her. She felt as if she was falling backwards blindly and yet her feet were firmly plastered on the ground. The bizarre sensation was confusing and terrifying to hold. If this was indeed a dream, Amaya sincerely wished to awake as soon as possible.

A sudden flash of light brought Amaya back from her thoughts. The pain it brought her eyes immediately diminished the falling feeling, but it still was not welcomed.

"I have told you before that I am not a medic"

The voice was vaguely familiar to Amaya and she searched for the speaker, but in the blinding light could not see anything.

"Aww, but the medical ward is all full up of Noi-kun's latest play toys"

Now that voice was definitely known to Amaya.

Then something struck Amaya's thoughts like a two tonne sledge hammer.

The source of the blackness, followed by the startling white light, all became clear as could be.

Her eyes shot wide open. She instantly wished they hadn't.

The close up shot of the amber eyes staring down at her, the strands of pink in the corner of her vision, the strange look those eyes were giving her.

Amaya screamed.

Loudly.

Szayel screamed back in her face.

Just as loudly.

He jumped backwards in surprise, still screaming, and the small medical flashlight soared randomly through the air until it landed with a clatter on the floor. Amaya stopped screaming after finally running out of breath. Szayel quickly did the same.

"Now I can understand why someone would yell when waking up ta yar nerdy face, Szayel, but why were ya yelling too?"

Amaya sat upright on the cold stone slab that she had been lying on. Her head whirled but she ignored it in order to see the other person standing in the shadows of the dark room.

Gin was grinning at the pair of them. Amaya shuddered involuntarily when she caught a glimpse of what he was standing in front of. Amongst the shelves upon shelves of glass jars along the wall, she could have sworn she saw one containing purplish goop, and suspended in the middle of that goop was what looked like a human face. She quickly looked away and focused her attention on something else. Her fingernails suddenly became very interesting.

"I... um..." Szayel started pacing around the edge of the room, trying to act as dignified as he could, "... it was a test"

Amaya looked up at him curiously.

"Really? For what?" she asked

"I'm afraid that information is classified" he babbled while tapping on another of the jars. The white orb inside it spun around and the eyeball stared at him. Even for an eyeball, it looked rather pissed. Whether this was because it had been napping or was simply angry that it no longer had a body Amaya couldn't discern.

"Ya alright, Maya-kun?" Amaya's attention was drawn back to the figure standing in the shadows. This time she fixed her attention on his face and tried not to look at the weird jars behind him.

"Err, yeah I guess" she told Gin semi-honestly. She was alright, apart from the splitting headache and faint dizziness. But that was swiftly departing anyway. Besides, she didn't really want to seem like a weakling in front of Aizen's second-in-command, did she? Aizen didn't have any room for weakness in the army he was assembling.

"Ya fainted pretty swiftly there" he stated. Amaya had no idea why he looked so pleased with himself. Surely she hadn't embarrassed herself that much? Or had she?

"Umm..." any words that may have been formed were stopped. Her eyes widened. A large yellow warning sign had flipped up inside her mind and was now displaying full details of what had happened earlier, or more importantly, what had happened just before she had fainted. She quickly turned her head downwards and started inspecting her fingernails again. She didn't want anyone to see the faint hints of pink that were brushing her cheeks at that time.

So that was why he was acting so smug.

Fortunately, she was spared any further embarrassment by a rather sudden interruption.

"Oh, brother deaaarest!" the door slammed open and something very odd twirled into the room. On second thought, Amaya realised just how elegantly that thing had been when twirling.

"What is it, Yylfordt? I've got some very important data to analyse" Szayel murmured having now sat himself at a desk in the corner and started to jot down things on a clipboard.

"Well..." the Espada's older and more flamboyant brother started dramatically, "it was a fine night here in Hueco Mundo. The air was still, the sand was white, the moon was high and I decided to take a little walk out along one of the lesser used parts of this magnificent building known as Las Noches. As soon as I had set off I noticed that I had accidentally forgotten one of my most crucial belongings. Thus was the reason for me to return to my chambers! There I searched. I searched high and low! Left and right! There and back! It was little after I had been consumed by-"

"Get to the point"

"Ooo! Someone's pissy today aren't they? Tell me brother, is it that time of the month already?" At Yylfordt's comment Szayel just looked up briefly from his notes and glared. He then returned his attention to whatever was on the clipboard. Amaya herself had to stop the little snigger that was threatening to escape her mouth. Apparently, this didn't go unnoticed.

"And what do we have here?" Yylfordt said in a flowing voice as he twirled over to her. Amaya stiffened when he leant down and put a finger to her chin. "What on earth is such a pretty little thing like yourself doing in my disgrace of a brother's laboratory? Szayel, you haven't been dosing out that stuff again, have you? If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times; date rape is wrong"

"Err..." Amaya faltered at the closeness of her face to the other Numeros' own. She felt one of those long blonde strands brush briefly against her shoulder and noticed the iciness of those blue eyes. She suddenly felt dizzy again.

"What do you want?" Szayel repeated, sounding more than a little frustrated at his supposedly older and more mature brother. As quickly as his finger had rested on her chin it left. He spun around gracefully and clapped his hands together. Amaya's thoughts continued to whirl and she sat confused.

"I've lost it" he said as if it explained everything. Apparently, to Szayel, it did.

"Too bad"

Yylfordt gasped.

"But brother! How could you say that? To your own flesh and blood! It's shocking!" he exclaimed

"What 'ave ya lost?" Yylfordt's head snapped round at the voice. Until that moment, he hadn't noticed Gin's presence at all.

"My hairclip!" he cried even more dramatically than he had been doing so previously. Amaya blinked. Did he just say... hair... clip?

"Hairclip?" Gin voiced her question for her.

"Yes! My special pink sparkly one that brings out my gorgeous blue eyes!"

Again, Amaya blinked.

Were all arrancar crazy or something?

Maybe the shinigamification process removed half their brains?

Maybe that was why she was so clumsy?

"Well, you'll just have to make do without it, won't you?" Szayel told a now distressed Yylfordt who had tears literally spewing from his eyes. He very quickly ran up to the Espada and clutched at his jacket desperately.

"But I can't!" he whispered frenziedly.

"You'll just have to" this set Yylfordt off on another crying spree. Amaya was pretty sure if this didn't stop soon then she'd drown in a sea of salty tears.

She thought fast.

"I like your hair as it is"

The tears stopped.

So did the wailing.

Yylfordt let go of Szayel and spun around. Amaya almost fell off of the stone bench at the sight of his wide eyes sparkling happily. He sniffed.

"Really?"

Amaya nodded.

"Yep"

This appeared to have the desired effect as soon Yylfordt was standing fully upright, one hand on his chest, and looking off determinedly into the distance.

"Well my hair is something I'm very proud of. It was centuries ago when I first realised the full potential of these powerful blonde locks! I woke up one morning and looked at the dazzling image that was my own reflection! And it was if an angel came down from heaven and spoke to m-"

"Szayel-kun's hair is pretty as well" Gin interrupted another of Yylfordt's rants.

"Yes, people say it must run in the family" Yylfordt informed them all. "Although, I'm not so sure that that colour does, brother. Tell me, at what point precisely did it spontaneously change overnight?"

Szayel huffed and looked back down at the clipboard.

"Aww! I didn't know Szayel-kun dyed his hair!" Gin cooed.

"Yylfordt" Szayel spoke up sternly.

"Yes, brother dearest?"

"Get out"

---

"I don't exactly understand how arrancar can even have siblings" Amaya muttered to herself thoughtfully while walking down the corridor.

"It's complica'ed" Gin replied.

"Oh"

They continued to walk in silence for a few minutes before Gin finally decided to speak again.

"Ya ever been ta the ocean, Maya-kun?"

Amaya stopped at the odd question, causing Gin to follow suit. She peered at him questioningly.

"I don't think so, at least not recently" She answered, "Why?"

"Just wondering, ya seemed ta recognise the smell in Szayel's lab, that's all" this only got Amaya more confused.

"Smell?"

"Yep, the smell of sea water. I think he's doing some experiment on it or somin"

Amaya stared at Gin, not understanding what she was thinking fully. He had an odd expression on his face, besides the obvious grin. It was something Amaya had seen before. It was something that worried her.

"What are you planning?" she asked nervously, not sure if she wanted to know the answer anymore. Whatever it was, she was certain it would not be appreciated by many arrancar.

Gin looked away and continued walking, his smile now slightly wider.

"I'm not sure if I can tell ya tha'" he spoke happily. Ok, now Amaya definitely wanted to know.

"Why not?" she asked, scurrying after him. She bumped into his back as he suddenly ground to a halt and turned to face her. That smirk only caused Amaya to have a brain overload. She found she no longer could move as he reached up and brushed the hair away from her ear, leaning forward so that he only had to whisper to be heard.

"Coz ya may just faint again"

A shiver ran down Amaya's back.

"What if I promise I won't?" the whisper had left her lips before she even thought of it. She tingled as Gin's lips brushed her ear briefly before he replied.

"Then I may just tell ya"

Amaya's eyes fluttered shut as she felt the touch against her lips. She shouldn't be doing this. If anything else, Gin frightened her. He was just so... sly.

But then again, did that really matter?

It appeared that it didn't as all thoughts simultaneously left her mind and she was left standing there, her body taking control as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She felt his slither around her waist and settle there. She moaned slightly through the kiss. Gin only smiled.

And throughout it all, Amaya kept her promise.

This time, she didn't faint.

---

**Bit of Gin Goodness for ya all at the end there... soz that was short, but homework, homework, homework.**

**I'm sorry to anyone who was insulted or damaged by my portrayal ****of Yylfordt****. I know, OOC meltdown, but it's just so much fun!**

**Also, when I started this I thought his name was spelt Il Forte, and have seen it so in many a place, but wikipedia says its Yylfordt, and wikipedia knows all. I've also seen it spelt Il Fort, Ilfort, Ilford and Ilforte, just in case ya got confused.**

**This week I got my RS mock results back. I got 62/63! Whoopeee! Guess what, though? The ONE mark I lost was because I didn't use enough paragraphs! PARAGRAPHS!!! FOR GODS SAKE!!!! Mind you, I only got as high a mark as I did coz I made loads of crap up. Some ppl got Ds, I really don't see how that's possible in RS seeing as its basically philosophy. The only thing you need to actually know for the entire thing is Exodus 20:13... THOU SHALT NOT KILL!! It works for everything**

**RHEA IS MY SPECIAL!!  
... there I mentioned you, ya happy now?**

**Why some people don't review,  
****I haven't got a clue**


	8. Concentration

**Got this one up finally. Soz bout wait again, but work is a bitch.**

**Shout outs go to anyone who wants it.**

**Chapter 7: Concentrate**

---

"I see that you have been busy," Aizen spoke into the dark shadows as he rested his head on one of his hands, placed oh so elegantly on the arm of his chair. His voice, still full of the masculine echo, bounced off of the high ceiling and into the open Hueco Mundo air behind his throne. Tousen was right. There was no need to worry. His voice was full of... justice. "Gin"

"Somehow ya make tha' sound like a bad thing" Gin stood under the security of the shadow of a wall. He watched Aizen with his slit eyes and couldn't help but smile, not that he wouldn't anyway.

"With you, Gin, it usually is" Aizen replied and a small smirk crossed his lips. Gin let out a small giggle. Aizen's face became serious once more. "Still, I believe I told you to keep an eye on Silbido"

Gin almost felt like letting the grin slip, but held it in place.

"Not your lips"

The grin's full strength returned at hearing that. Gin could tell Aizen had something up his sleeve, something that wouldn't be of any threat to him. Even if he wasn't looking at him directly and his words conveyed annoyance, the tone of his voice was not directed at Gin.

"I'm jus' having a bit of fun. Ya didn't say I couldn't" he pointed out.

"You are correct on that, but I also did not tell you that you could"

Gin didn't say anything. He knew Aizen wasn't finished.

"Although," the brown haired man spoke up right on cue. His eyes pivoted around until they rested on the fox in the dark. Gin smiled wider. "We could always use this to our advantage"

Both men smirked in understanding.

"Tha' we could"

---

_Must. _

_Concentrate._

Amaya felt the warm tingle as a rather large bead of sweat rolled down her forehead. She gritted her teeth and tried not to lose her head too much. She had to focus. She didn't want to do something wrong and look like an idiot in front of him.

This was not fun. How could normal people do this? And enjoy it at that?

She shouldn't have let it go so far. She was certain she would only regret it in the future.

But she had no choice. Not when it was him.

_Must._

_Not._

_Drop._

_It_.

What if she had done it wrong? That certainly would not be good. Maybe she should taste it to make sure? No, he would have told her if he wanted her to do that. Besides, there can't be that many ways of doing this, right? Of course. She was panicking over nothing. Right?

She just had to be casual. But how could she with this happening?

Alright, alright, no need to get all stressed out; it isn't that big a deal. Now, be calm, she couldn't afford to rush it.

_Gently._

"And then the lion said to the mosquito-"

"I think we have all heard enough of your individual style of humour, Zommari" Aizen interrupted the large, usually silent Espada in fear of the others all attempting to find a window in Las Noches to jump out of. Of course, that wouldn't damage them in the slightest, but Aizen simply could not take another one of Zommari's punch lines. "Ulquiorra, perhaps you would be kind enough to offer some wit to the table"

"Of course, Aizen-sama" Ulquiorra answered before promptly standing and clearing his throat. "Well, there was this large bowl of trash and..."

Amaya wasn't listening. Even if she had been, she would not have laughed. She was too busy trying to be silent.

This was made difficult thanks to urges to cry out profanities every few seconds.

_Just take it slow_ _and no one will get hurt._

"That was very amusing, Ulquiorra. Now Nnoitra, do you have something of a joke to offer us?"

Amaya cringed as something moist was spilt onto her hand. She shouldn't be doing this. She just shouldn't. Especially here, now.

"There was a woman and then she exploded!" Nnoitra said before promptly bursting into a fit of hysterical laughter at his own hilarity. Aizen peered at him sternly.

"Yes, quite" he spoke. "How about you, Stark, do you wish to entertain us all with an anecdote of some sort?"

Amaya heard the high pitched laughing of Nnoitra faintly in the back of her mind but chose to ignore it. Whatever he was finding so funny was not important. What was important was the task at hand. This task almost certainly conveyed eventual doom for her.

Couldn't he have found someone else for this job?

"Whatever, an Englishman, an Irishman and a Welshman all walked into a bar, something happened and there were hilarious consequences."

Why the hell had she been crowned as the new tea lady?

Aizen's comment of displeasure at Stark's blatant lack of effort in the weekly comedy meeting was halted by the piercing scream that came forth.

His eyes searched for its source and they finally settled on a spot on the floor several paces behind Szayel.

Amaya raised her head feebly and looked at her hands that were gradually becoming a deeper shade of red with every passing second. Damn, who knew scolding tea hurt so much? She raised herself up so that she was kneeling and groaned at the migraine starting to form in her skull.

Then she remembered where she was.

Her head jerked upwards to meet the ten inquisitive gazes falling on her from the people around the table. She suspected Aaroniero was giving her the same look from behind the mask, Gin was simply grinning at her, and Tousen, well, Tousen couldn't gaze at all.

She immediately turned her attention to picking up the many fragments of china tea pot that had broken when she fell.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry" she started babbling. "I'll clear this up, don't worry, it's fine, I'm alright"

With every touch her fingers felt they were burning and she cringed with the pain. Nevertheless, she ignored the crimson skin that was starting to blister and continued collecting the pieces of china.

"Yes," Amaya gulped at hearing Aizen's voice. She was in for it now. "Then we shall resume with our urgent meeting"

Ripples spread across the spilt tea under Amaya's sigh of relief.

She hurriedly placed any remains of the pot onto the tray and began to stand. Then something caught her attention. She knelt still and debated what to do in her mind.

She couldn't just leave it there. What if he cut himself on it when the meeting was over?

She began to crawl, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. She had just picked it up off of the ground when her presence was noticed.

"What are you doing?"

Amaya jolted upwards and her head went splat into the table above her. She clutched at it as she looked at the speaker.

Szayel peered at the Numeros crouching under the table beside his feet quizzically. Amaya swiftly scrambled out and stood.

"I was just picking up this bit of broken porcelain, that's all!" She squealed while holding up the large chunk of tea pot so he could see it, hoping he would believe her.

"Uh huh" Szayel said slowly. Amaya laughed nervously. "That's... good?"

Amaya looked down at the ground, embarrassed that she had once again interrupted the meeting because of her own clumsiness. She could practically feel Gin's quiet chuckles burning into her flesh.

"Ya cant do anything righ', can ya Maya-kun?"

Amaya turned an even deeper shade of scarlet and tried to hide her face behind strands of hair. Was he mocking her? Why? Her fingers started playing with the material of her skirt as she silently wished that the ground would suddenly open up and swallow her whole.

"Well, maybe some things" Gin continued deviously.

Amaya almost gagged. She turned her head and stared at the crafty smirk on Gin's face. She felt another wave of blushing and quickly looked down again.

"I..." she spluttered quietly, "I'll go fetch some towels for the tea!"

"There will be no need for that" Aizen intervened. Amaya blinked and looked at him questioningly. "Grimmjow"

Grimmjow sighed.

"What?" he asked down-heartedly. He already knew what Aizen was going to ask him.

"Deal with it"

"Yes, Aizen-sama" Grimmjow replied sadly. He knew what he was. He was just a tool.

Amaya watched with interest as Grimmjow stood, put his hands on the table, and stared angrily at the puddle of liquid on the floor. It punctually evaporated under the unbearable levels of manliness.

He sat and slouched back into the chair once more.

"There, happy?" he growled in frustration.

"I suppose" Aizen said plainly. "Silbido, you are dismissed"

"Uh, yes, Aizen-sama!" Amaya bowed quickly before scurrying out of the room. She briefly returned to collect the tray of tea pot debris that she had forgotten before darting out again.

Why didn't she just concentrate?

---

"Owie!"

Amaya winced as the medic wrapped the cream bandages around her scolded fingers. Weren't arrancar supposed to have thick skin or something to prevent this kind of injury? If they were, it appeared Amaya was exempt from the norm as now she couldn't touch a thing without needles of pain being jabbed into her hand and twisted around inside of her flesh.

"Oh, sorry, Maya, was that too tight?"

"No, no. It just sting a bit, Del, that's all" Amaya thought that was the understatement of the century, but Delfina didn't have to know that, did she?

"You know, you really should be more careful. This is the third time you've come to see me this week" Del told her seriously. Amaya had always gotten along with the medics of Las Noches well. They were probably the people she spent most time with, after all. She couldn't remember the last time three days had gone by without her visiting this ward.

"You think I try to injure myself like this?" both women let out a small laugh and Del finished wrapping the final bandage around her little finger. Amaya cringed but didn't say anything about the pain.

"Don't worry, it should soon heal, you always do. And then maybe you can try to be a little bit more cau-" Del stopped speaking as she felt the presence from the doorway. She looked up over Amaya's shoulder. Amaya turned her head to see what was so interesting.

"Hiya, Maya-kun"

"Ichimaru-sama! I... err... what are you doing here?" Amaya stumbled over her words in the surprise she was feeling.

"Jus' came ta see if ya were alrigh'" Gin replied, stepping inside the small room. Amaya twisted herself around so that she was fully facing him.

"I've got another patient to see. Will you be ok, Maya?" Del asked. Amaya nodded and she started to leave the room, quickly bowing to Gin on her way out. "Ichimaru-sama"

"See ya, Del-kun!" Gin called after her. He then resumed walking towards where Amaya was sitting on the stone slab used as a hospital bed. He stopped just in front of her. Amaya found her mind wandering into somewhat more dangerous territory. "Tha' looks nasty"

"Huh?"

"Ya hands"

"Oh, it's nothing really" Amaya lied as she held her palms in front of her face to inspect the new bandaging. Gin leaned forwards and did likewise. Amaya gulped at how close he was. His face must have been three inches away from hers at most. While he was still looking at the neat cream material wrapped around her hands, she found herself biting her lip. She held her breath, not wanting to take in any more of that familiar scent he had.

Why was she acting like this? It was only a kiss after all. Or maybe two. But one of them didn't really count since she was semi-unconscious at the time.

God she wished she hadn't been semi-unconscious.

"Ow!" Amaya suddenly exclaimed and yanked her hand back. The piercing pain when Gin had so kindly poked her hard in the palm successfully pulled her back from her daze.

"Don't seem like nothing ta me" Amaya would have felt fine about someone saying this, if it wasn't for the frankly sadistic tone Gin had used. It was almost as if he enjoyed watching her squirm.

"It is" she insisted. She placed her hands gently onto her lap and begun staring at them intently. She really didn't want to look at Gin's smiling face right now.

Luckily, that wasn't an option in what happened next.

Amaya's eyes widened and focused on the now extremely close up slotted eyes. Gin's hand had pulled her chin up so quickly she didn't have time to react and now, with his lips placed firmly against hers, she wasn't sure if she wanted to. Even if she had, she wasn't sure if she could have.

She was still trying to register what was happening when Gin pulled away and quickly turned. By the time she blinked, he was already by the door.

"Bye-bye, Maya-kun" he said happily. He then looked back over his shoulder as if remembering something. "Oh yeah, Aizen wants to see you by the way"

What?

Amaya didn't get a chance to ask anything else.

He had already left.

---

"I am glad to see you could make it" Aizen addressed the Numeros that stood before him.

Amaya bowed.

"You wanted to see me, Aizen-sama?" she asked trying to keep her nerves under control. Aizen peered down at her from atop his mighty throne. A serious look was on his face.

"Yes" he spoke calmly.

Amaya gulped. What had she done wrong this time? Was it the tea pot earlier today? Or maybe the door yesterday? Or maybe the window the day before?

Dammit, it could be anything she ever did really.

Aizen continued in the same voice.

"I have a task for you"

Huh?

"A... task...?"

---

**Wooty wootiful! Finally got this finished. I really have been meaning to make these chapters longer, but just haven't had the time.**

**I know I said that my coursework was in for this week, and so you were all probably thinking that I'd get my act together and write faster now that it'd been handed in. But unfortunately our cruel-hearted teachers have given us rebellious lot extensions(which we all reeeaaally needed coz there was no way in which we'd get everything finished in time) for the upcoming week so it may still be slow until the assignments are given in. Please forgive me.**

**Shrews are funny  
****Shrews are odd  
****Shrews don't review  
****They're lazy sods**


	9. Necessary Information

**Well hello, long time no see**

**This one's really not that great, I reread it and realised just how bad the writing was and how unfunny it sounded. Guess I just haven't been in the proper mindset recently. I finally managed to make it longer though, so I suppose that sort of makes up for it.**

**Remember kids, size DOES matter**

**Chapter 8: Necessary information**

---

"Do you understand what you are to do?"

"Yes, Aizen-sama" Amaya's answer was quiet as she stared at the floor in front of her. She understood perfectly well; she just didn't see the point of it. This 'task' Aizen had given her was odd, seemingly redundant even, but as it was Aizen there had to be some greater meaning behind it. But why was she chosen for it? Surely he knew she'd just screw it up?

"Then you may leave"

"Yes, Aizen-sama" she said in understanding before bowing deeply. Her footsteps against the cold ground gradually got quieter and quieter until they could no longer be heard.

Aizen peered at the doorway where she had just left, an expression of deep contemplation on his face.

"What do you think, Kaname?" at the words more footsteps rung, but this time they were fewer and softer. Tousen stepped out of the dark shadows to the right of Aizen slowly. He had listened to the previous scene carefully and, to be honest, it puzzled him.

"I now see why you were concerned about this girl" he answered Aizen's question honestly. "There definitely is an atmosphere around her. It had been too small to notice when the distractions of others were present, but I can sense it now. I don't know what it is, but it is not justice"

"Exactly"

Tousen stood in silence for a moment, still trying to fit the pieces together. He didn't understand.

"Aizen-sama," he spoke up once more, "what is the purpose of testing her this way?"

A small smile grew across Aizen's lips effortlessly. He had been waiting for that question.

"Kaname, would you deliver a message to Szayel for me?"

---

Amaya read the list in her hand and ran her finger along the strip of white under her left eye. She was concentrating. This was important.

Well, obviously, she would go see Yammy first; he was the tenth Espada after all. But then what if Ulquiorra was with him? She could kill two birds with one stone. But then Grimmjow wouldn't be happy that Ulquiorra had jumped the queue. She didn't want to face an angry Grimmjow. But what if Grimmjow never found out? It wasn't even that big a deal anyway.

Maybe she should just go see them as they popped up around the building?

Yeah, that was a better plan. Then she wouldn't have to worry about a manly cat thing clawing her eyes out. She was certain Grimmjow was capable of something like that.

Amaya looked up from the list and tried to judge where about in Las Noches she was.

Well, she was in the centre somewhere; that was for sure. Damn these perfect white corridors always looking exactly the same.

She sighed heavily.

If only she hadn't been too busy thinking about the task to actually bother and pay attention to where she was going.

And now she was lost.

She guessed that the only way to find her bearings again was to continue aimlessly along the corridors until she came across somewhere she knew.

Or someone turned up as her knight in shining armour to rescue her.

Amaya looked off dreamily into the distance as a thought occurred to her.

What if Gin popped up out of the darkness like he usually did and startled her senseless? She would jump, most likely trip over, and then he would be there to catch her in his arms. He would offer her directions, and unknown to her, they would lead her right to his bedchambers. There he would pop out of the shadows again and take her in a passionate embrace. He would kiss her, she would trip again, and this time she would fall on top of him and then he would-

"What are you doing?"

Amaya almost hit the ceiling as she jumped into the air in surprise at being woken from her trancelike daydream. She knew it was probably for the best. She really shouldn't be thinking stuff like that.

But what if it was Gin who had come to re-enact her fantasy?

Almost as quickly as she had leapt into the air she spun around to greet her saviour for today.

"Oh" disappointment hit her head like an anvil. She felt like wailing like a little kid. Why was it not Gin?

"What're you 'oh'ing me for?" Grimmjow asked irritated at the greeting he had received, or lack there of.

"Nothing, Jeagerjaques-san" Amaya said quickly in a high voice before bowing. Grimmjow huffed and looked at the ground.

"Don't call me that, k? It's creepy hearing your name all formal" he muttered. Amaya blinked. Well this wasn't what she had been expecting. It seemed more like Grimmjow to scratch your eyes out than actually have a conversation. Maybe this was just a trick and in a second he'd pounce and start clawing away at her face.

Amaya felt her hand involuntarily reach up to her cheek, ready to cover her eyes if necessary.

"Err, ok, umm" she closed her eyes and braced herself for the onslaught of claws, "Grimmjow?"

After a minute of not feeling her face being used as a scratching post, she opened one eye.

"Do you have mental issues?"

She pulled her hands away from her face and blinked, not understanding the question.

"What?" she asked sounding rather idiotic. Grimmjow just sighed.

"Nothing" he murmured.

"Er, trying not to sound too stupid here, but" she started timidly knowing just how daft he must think she was at that moment, "do you know where we are?"

"Floor six, third tower" Grimmjow answered normally. Amaya felt relieved that not only was she no longer lost in the forest of Las Noches, but that he didn't sound as if he thought it was unusual to not know where you were. Well, in this place getting lost wasn't that odd. "And yes, you do sound stupid"

Another anvil landed heavily on her head.

Grimmjow just turned and started walking away as she stood there, no features visible on her face.

Then she came to her senses.

"Oh, Jeage- I mean Grimmjow!" she called out after him. He paused and glanced at her over his shoulder, narrowing his eyes. Amaya wanted to run away screaming knowing now was probably the time her face would get mutated, but instead she held her ground and continued. "I need to ask you something"

Grimmjow turned fully so he was facing her, uncertain curiosity etched across his face.

"What?"

---

"Ulquiorra!" Yammy ran frantically into the room and started shouting "I can't find my crayons!"

"Have you checked under your bed?" Ulquiorra asked only semi-bothered with the answer. They had had this very same conversation at least three times this week already.

"Yes! They aren't there!" Yammy hurried over to where Ulquiorra was sitting at the table, writing something that was probably progress reports on the lower arrancar for Aizen. He slammed his giant fists down onto the table, causing the ink pot to knock over and stain the delicate handwriting on the pristine paper. "What am I gonna do?!"

"I suggest you start a methodical search" Ulquiorra stated before picking up the reports he had been working on for the past hour and inspecting them to see if they could be recovered. Judging that they could not, he scrunched them up and threw them into a nearby waste paper basket. "Trash"

"What's methyldopa?" Yammy asked now confused.

"A prescription medication used by those suffering hypertension that carries side effects such as dizziness, drowsiness, headache, gas, dry mouth, fatigue, stomach upsets, chest pain, depression, severe stomach cramps, unusual bleeding or bruising, and yellowing of the skin or eyes. I believe it has become quite popular in the human world."

"Whaa'?" This explanation did not aid Yammy at all in trying to understand what Ulquiorra was saying.

"Methyldopa is a prescription medication used by those suffering hypertension that ca-"

"Ulquiorra! What's hypertension?" Yammy interrupted as he sat down at the table opposite Ulquiorra, rested his head in his hands and prepared to learn. The fourth Espada was a very good teacher.

"It is commonly known as high blood pressure" Ulquiorra started getting out some more paper to start over the reports.

"Blood?" Yammy shouted loudly. Ulquiorra nodded as he began writing. "Like blood that goes splat when you punch someone's head off?"

"I believe it is the same thing"

"Well then that's ok! I can be methyldopa if I get to see some blood!"

"I think that you are confu-"

Ulquiorra's sentence was cut short by a loud crash followed by a short 'umpf' coming from the doorway. He looked up to see a mess of red and white crumpled onto the floor after tumbling through the entrance and flinging open the door in the process.

Amaya quickly regained her composure and stood, brushing her hair and skirt down in the process.

"I'm ok, I'm ok" she announced. Silence engulfed the room. Ulquiorra simply stared at the intruder looking completely unimpressed with her display of elegance. Yammy was too busy peering at something that had caught his eye on the floor a few paces behind Amaya.

Slowly, it dawned on him what they were.

The silence was broken.

"You found my crayons!" he yelled happily as he ran past the Numero and started picking each individual stick of waxy goodness off of the floor.

"That's what they are?" Amaya asked as she began to rub the back of her head, "I knew I tripped over something"

Yammy carried the crayons back to where Ulquiorra was still sitting calmly and placed them lovingly down onto the table.

"Look Ulquiorra! She found my crayons!"

"I see" he returned his attention to the clumsy girl in the doorway, who was now looking around her in a bemused sort of way. "Did you need something?"

Amaya jumped and her eyes snapped back to the Espada at the table. Yammy had now snatched some of the paper away from Ulquiorra and was busy scribbling away, testing out if his crayons still worked. They did and the mess of twisted limbs that was spewing from the tip of the crayon he was holding was a little unnerving for Amaya.

"Oh yeah" she said forcing her eyes away from the frightening images and back to Ulquiorra's even more frightening face. She practically fell backwards in fear of the emo inside him. "Aizen-sama sent me to ask you something"

"Was it trash?"

"Uh, no"

"Oh"

---

Amaya stood outside the door nervously, waiting to be called in. She was about to knock again, uncertain that she had been heard the first time, when a high pitched voice came forth.

"Enter"

The large white door swung open before her. Amaya peered inside, into the deep dark abyss that met her gaze.

"If you dare" a deeper, raspier voice added.

Amaya gulped and stepped into the room, trying to stay in the light that came from the doorway. This plan failed as the door slammed shut behind her. Amaya blinked and tried to adjust her eyes. When they did, she kind of wished she had never tried in the first place.

"What is it..." the high voice said

"...That you want?" the deeper one finished.

Amaya couldn't speak; she just stood and stared at the strange thing before her. Aaroniero sat on a high chair at the other side of the room, the large eyes of the mask staring her down.

"Um.." Amaya started after finding her voice again, "I was sent to-"

Amaya stopped mid-sentence to make room for the colossal scream that left her mouth.

"Well, this is certainly different"

Amaya shook her head wildly, trying to shift the thoughts from her head. It was still Aaroniero. It was still Aaroniero. For God's sake she had just seen him take off his mask! It was still him!

"Can I ask you something?" the horrendous sight said "Why are you afraid of weird mutant-elephant-guinea-pig-things?"

Amaya screamed again and ran over to the corner furthest away from the guinea pig faced, elephant eared, insect eyed creature and curled up into a ball and began wailing.

"Don't come near me!" she yelled at a puzzled Aaroniero. He stood and took a step forwards. Amaya squealed and dug around in her robes for something she knew she should have.

The sudden beam of faint light baffled Aaroniero. Amaya didn't look but continued to wave the small flashlight manically around the room, hoping that maybe she was pointing it at the Espada.

After a few minutes she looked up from her hand again.

The crazy mutant was still there.

"You're strange" Aaroniero spoke before pulling on the mask again. Amaya breathed a sigh of relief and slowly got to her feet.

"So what is it..." the high pitched voice returned

"...That you want?"

---

Nnoitra smiled widely as he continued his morning routine. It was a day very similar to any other here in Hueco Mundo. Nothing of much importance had occurred.

"Meow"

Nnoitra glanced down at the small kittens on the table in front of him. One stared back at him, an innocent look on its little fluffy face as its paws rested on the hilt of the bowl.

He flashed his massive tomb stone teeth at it. It tilted its head to the side curiously.

"Meow"

A knock came from the door. Nnoitra pried his eyes away from the adorable ball of fur and to where the sound was coming from.

"What?" he snapped agitatedly. The door opened a crack and one nervous looking head popped inside.

"Jiruga-san?" Amaya asked with her body still outside the room.

"What is it, woman?"

Amaya chose to enter the room fully, after gathering enough of her nerves to make it possible. She saw Nnoitra sitting by the table. It only confused her to see a bowl of mewing kittens on that very table. What was he doing with them? Did the tall creepy Espada have a soft side after all? Even if she saw it herself, she would find it hard to believe that he was the kind of person who went gooey over baby animals. It would suit him better if he was stringing them up by their tonsils around the room on little hooks.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" she asked cautiously, still eyeing the cats, half uncertain, half just wanting to run over there and pet the cute little things.

"No" Nnoitra replied, "I was just having my lunch"

Oh dear God no

As if to answer her question, one of the kittens tried to sneak its way out of the bowl and slowly creep along the table. It didn't see the hand coming in time to react.

Nnoitra's cheeks bulged and his lips tried to remain shut.

A small sound came from inside his gigantic mouth.

"Meow"

Amaya squealed in fright as he swallowed, forcing the fluffy thing down his throat whole. Another sound escaped, this time from his stomach.

"Meow"

What the hell?! Did he just eat an entire cat without chewing and it's still alive even in his stomach?!

Amaya dreaded to think what the inside of Nnoitra were like, overrun with little animals, all squirming around confused at where they were, their waste just piling up inside of him.

Then again, after the morning she had had, she wouldn't be surprised if Nnoitra suddenly popped and burst into thousands of tiny love hearts.

With arrancar, it seemed as if anything was possible.

"Woof"

"Did your stomach just woof?!" Amaya yelled in complete shock, pointing at Nnoitra accusingly.

"Breakfast" he said simply, "They're good for me, full of protein they are"

Amaya found that she couldn't move. Full realisation was starting to take hold.

Just what kind of monster ate puppies and kittens for breakfast?

"Now hurry up and tell me what you came here for or I'll make you dessert!"

The answer to that, of course, was a hungry monster.

---

"What is it? I'm a busy man"

For the second time in the same number of days, Amaya squinted into the darkness of Szayel's laboratory and tried desperately to avoid looking at the many strange objects on the wall. She didn't want to see them. She had had enough terrifying experiences today already. If she wasn't careful she may just collapse at any second.

"I... err..." she stammered. You would have thought asking the same question over and over again in such a short amount of time would have gotten her used to it by now. The problem was, each of the Espada were different. They were each fear worthy in their own individual ways.

"Hurry up, I've already got several inventions to complete for Aizen-sama, on top of my usual work, and now they're sending little girls to get in the way, really, they should have more appreciation for science" Szayel grumbled. It would have been somewhat more comforting to Amaya if she could actually see the man. Who knew what he was doing behind that curtain?

Then again, Amaya probably didn't want to know.

"I... um..." she was having enough trouble as it was trying to suppress the temptation of curiosity to just remove her eyes from the plain white curtain and look up at her surroundings. Talking on top of that was far too difficult a task.

"What?" Szayel finally snapped and he poked his head around the curtain.

Amaya gasped.

"Your... your... your..." she stuttered as she pointed in wonder at Szayel's head, or more accurately, what was on top of his head.

Szayel shrieked and hid behind the curtain again.

"You didn't see that!" he shouted sounding slightly panicky. Amaya took a few steps backwards.

"But..." she blurted out still in shock, "your hair!"

"I said you didn't see that!" Szayel repeated desperately. Amaya thought he sounded as if he was about to cry.

"How?" Amaya whispered out

"I'll tell you how!" he yelled before throwing the curtains back and revealing himself to Amaya once more. She had been right; tears were practically streaming from his face. "That idiot Nnoitra replaced my pink dye with a blonde one! How can I live with this shame?"

Amaya steadied herself and tried to calm down.

"I... I don't think it's very shameful. Being blonde isn't a problem, is it? Lot's of people have blonde hair" she squeaked out

"You don't understand!" he cried frantically. Amaya tilted her head to the side and Szayel cared to elaborate. "I look like Yylfordt!"

There was a pause as stillness washed over the room.

Eventually, Amaya broke it.

"Why is that a bad thing?"

Szayel's answer came in the form of a mighty scream. He ran over to the nearest workbench and picked up a particularly sharp-looking scalpel. He held it before his chest, tip pointing at his heart.

"Don't come any closer! I swear I'll do it! I'll kill myself right here! Then Nnoitra will be sorry for mucking with my stuff!"

"Doubt it" Amaya mumbled under her breath. "Anyway, there's no need to kill yourself over this. Why don't you just dye your hair back to, err... normal?"

"Because that was my last bottle of dye and Aizen-sama says the budget won't cover any more!"

"Ok, ok, there's a simple solution to this" Amaya told him. Szayel's eyes narrowed with interest.

"Go on"

---

Amaya sat on her bed, her head in her hands.

The first part of this 'task' was now over. The list of the necessary information lay of the sheets beside her. She had thought gathering this had been hard enough, but now the next stage seemed almost impossible.

But she had no choice in this.

She was told to do this.

Aizen had told her to do this.

Even if it was a stupid task, it was a task nonetheless. The question of why still plagued her mind, but she pushed it aside, making room for any new ideas that were definitely needed right about now.

Maybe this was something that Aizen needed to maintain control over his arrancar army. Any parent will tell you; a happy baby means an obedient baby. And the Espada were Aizen's most prized babies.

That was probably the reason for this task.

Finding out one thing from each of the Espada that they thought would improve their quality of afterlife in Las Noches was simply a means to keep them happy bunnies for a while. She had done that, not that it had been easy, but now she was supposed to gather these objects for the Espada.

That was easier said than done.

Halibel's and the old guy's requests were the easiest to solve.

When confronted with the almighty question Halibel had simply shut up and refused to say any more. Amaya presumed this meant that she did not want anything and thought that Hueco Mundo was perfect just the way it was.

The ancient Espada though, when asked, had started grumbling inaudible complaints at the ground. Amaya couldn't make everything out but she swore she heard the words 'kids these days' and 'don't know how lucky'. Amaya wasn't about to start arguing with the man and decided it was probably for the best if she just let him spend what short time he had left in peace. The grumpy old git.

But then things started to get tricky.

Aaroniero had asked for the impossible; an abstract concept that Amaya could never get for him. What was she supposed to do? Pluck some spare darkness from the corner of the room and wrap it up in a box all neat? Why was he so obsessed over darkness anyway?

Two others had also asked for concepts rather than actual matter.

Maybe Amaya could persuade Aizen to give the Espada more free time so that Stark could have his time to sleep? That would be difficult. Or maybe she could just hit him over the head and knock him out for a few days? Being unconscious was sort of like having time for sleep.

And then Grimmjow had asked for something unexpected. Surely, in this massive maze of a castle, he could find somewhere unoccupied. She would have thought that he had enough personal space as it was. Then again, associating with the other Espada...

The last five she was grateful for. At least they had substance that she could simply buy or find somewhere.

Ulquiorra would be pretty simple. All she had to do was rummage around in her bin to find him his precious 'trash'.

Yammy had asked for something she had never even heard of. 'Methyldopa' sounded as if it may be some sort of medication used in the human world. She would have to find out for sure before setting out on her little hunter gathering mission.

Just understanding Zommari had been difficult enough. 'M'brovas need a spanking fat box, like sachellelephant fat, coz our whilom one's a nacky, old banana, ya know? I'm propa flybanged bout dat!' Ok, so apparently his siblings needed some sort of large container because the last one spontaneously turned into a yellow fruit which is causing him to act like an insect. That completely made sense. Or maybe it didn't. How was she supposed to get something when she didn't even know what that thing was?

And Nnoitra wanted a toothbrush. But not just any toothbrush, oh no. He wanted a special toothbrush which he had heard about from a friend. On one side it was a regular old toothbrush, but on the other it had something to clean your tongue as well! Imagine that! What genius these humans now had! Off topic, Amaya wondered who had actually told Nnoitra about this toothbrush. Who would voluntarily be his friend?

And finally there was Szayel. Upon her suggestion, he had selected something that might be slightly possible to get hold of. If she did this mission quickly, he wouldn't have to suffer as a blonde Yylfordt look-a-like much longer. She should be able to find some pink hair dye somewhere, surely.

But the question was...

"Where the hell am I supposed to get these things from?"

"Maybe I can help with tha'"

Amaya jumped two feet off of her bed and landed with a crash on the cold ground. Her head popped up from amidst the swarm of crimson hair and glared at the intruder.

"Why do you always do that?" she shouted annoyed at being taken off guard for about the seventh time today. As if this damn task wasn't pressuring enough, now she had to keep herself under control too and stop herself from doing anything stupid. It was a daunting task.

"Do wha'?" Gin asked innocently back. Amaya got to her feet swiftly. Years of practice had prepared her for the journey from the ground to normal height and now she was an Olympic contender in the sport.

"Just creep up and pop out of the shadows like that" she said, now keeping her voice under control and no longer yelling.

"I know ya like it really" Gin said slyly. Amaya sensed the faint hint of pink swiping over her cheeks and turned away quickly.

"That's beside the point" she muttered embarrassed. She gulped when she felt the material of Gin's haori brush against her back and his arms slither around her waist. She had to stop herself going completely crazy when he leant forwards and placed his mouth to her ear.

"Is it?" he whispered. Amaya shuddered involuntarily.

"Yes" she said against what every part of her body was telling her to say. Suddenly the touch against her back was gone and Gin's arms disappeared. Amaya turned around confused only to see Gin looking perfectly normal a few feet away from her.

"Ok then" he said happily. Amaya didn't like the sensation in the back of her mind; the sensation of disappointment. Just what was she disappointed about? That he was still mocking her or that he had let go?

"You said something about knowing where I can get this crap?" she blurted out desperate for a topic change and something to distract her from, well, him.

"Yep"

"Where?"

---

**Sorry about how badly that was written. I deeply and sincerely apologize. Please do not murder me!**

**OK I actually decided to colour the pic of Amaya I drew. I rushed it though and so am not completely happy with the results. It's on my deviantart for anyone who wants to see. The link is on my profile page. If anyone else is severely bored and wants to draw me a pic, I can assure you it will be better than mine, is just awesome. Get drawing and send me the finished result! It will make me jump for joy! Even if its just a stick person, I'll still jump!**

**Still got piles of art and astronomy coursework, but now instead of maths I have history, physics, chemistry, and probably biology coming up, not mentioning an English essay that isn't actual coursework but still needs to be done. Oh the overload! It burns! In a few weeks it should all be out of the way though, apart from possibly astronomy and art prep for the exam, but that should be manageable.**

**If you need a poo,  
****Please don't review  
****Just go to the loo  
****But otherwise, do!**


	10. Matters of Parenthood

**Sorry, sorry, SORRYYYYY!!!! This one took soo long to get out, it's been like over 5 weeks or somin ridonculous. There are reasons. **

**First I've been really ill recently so haven't been doing much except sleeping. **

**Second because of my illness I've missed tonnes of school which means I'm now swamped with catching up work, I've got coursework for several subjects, and practise essays and papers for all the others. Since this is my GCSE year it's kinda important that I know what I'm learning, so I've been busy with that. Art has really been a bitch trying to catch up. **

**Third I haven't really been in much of a writing mood lately. I dunno what it is, this story's just getting to me a bit.**

**Also, the last chapter was shit, I apologize. I may rewrite it at some point. Hopefully, this one is a bit better.**

**Chapter 9: Matters of parenthood**

---

"As I told Silbido when I explained what she was to do, she is free to venture wherever she pleases for the duration of this task"

Aizen gazed out upon the white sands of Hueco Mundo intently. He wasn't watching for anything; he knew nothing would happen on the barren plain; and yet his eyes scanned the scene, as if searching for something important.

"And I do not recall placing any boundaries on your movements either..."

His stare remained on the vast white before him as the corner of his lips tugged upwards.

"...As of yet"

The clattering of footsteps against the cold flooring behind him sounded as his guest stepped forward from the shadows.

"Ya just like soundin' mysterious, don't'cha?"

"I believe it adds a certain atmosphere to events," Aizen replied casually. "Don't you agree, Gin?"

"I guess it's fun ta watch the arrancar squirm when wonderin' what yar thinkin'"

"Quite"

After a minute of silence Gin thought he might speak up again and remind Aizen of why he was here in the first place.

"Sooo," he said happily while rubbing the back of his head, "bout my question..."

Aizen's smirk grew wider.

"Of course," he spoke as his eyes landed on one particular sand dune that had caught his attention briefly. "Do you truly believe that following Silbido on her quest will aid our purpose?"

He turned his head slowly so that his gaze was shifted from the sand onto his subordinate.

"Or is it because it will assist you in reaching your other goal?"

"An' what goal would tha' be? Yar makin' it sound so shifty." Gin asked while shrugging his shoulders. He and Aizen both knew what goal they were talking about, but that didn't mean Gin couldn't toy around with the pretence that he didn't.

Aizen turned his back on Gin once more.

"Then I must be a fool, for I know doing that would only encourage you further"

"Yar too kind," the silver haired Shinigami said only sounding more encouraged on the matter. Then he paused. "Whatsamatta?"

Gin had noticed the sudden change in the stance of his leader and it vaguely concerned him. Aizen leaned further over the edge of the balcony and peered closer at what was in the middle of the desert. It was some distance away, and yet he recognised it immediately. For the first time in many years, he felt a slight unease.

He pointed out at the sands in answer to Gin's question. The man stepped forwards and searched for what was there.

He let out a small chuckle when he realised what it was.

"Why is he gliding a foot above the ground instead of walking?" Aizen asked genuinely confused on the matter. Gin only chuckled again.

"He aint got no legs ta walk with, remember?"

Aizen leaned backwards and the anxiousness left him.

"Ah yes," he said more to himself than Gin, "I had forgotten that Kaname was only a floating head with arms attached."

"How could ya? 'Twas one of the things tha' terrified the arrancar inta followin' ya in the first place."

Aizen didn't reply to that.

Admitting he had forgotten that Tousen had no body was one thing, but he certainly would not admit that he had also forgotten fourteen other things this week already. None had been significant, just little scraps of information. Well, except where he left the Hougyoku. He admitted that may have been somewhat of an error. But it had turned up in his sock drawer eventually anyway. So it was inconsequential.

He had not made a mistake.

At all.

Nope.

It was simply impossible.

Aizen didn't _do_ mistakes.

"Gin," he suddenly spoke into the darkness as he turned and started towards his throne.

"Yep?"

"Do not let her know that you are following her." Gin's grin broadened threefold at the instruction. It was a permission to go. "At least,"

Aizen sat on the chair and rested his chin in his hand. His trusty smirk was back in full use.

"Not at first"

---

The neat, black writing lay stark against the white background as the scribbling of pens against paper resounded throughout the small, dark room.

Amaya added the last stroke to the title at the right of the sheet and set the biro back onto the desk in front of her. Several of the old wooden things were arranged in this room in strict lines, all facing the same direction, all of them occupied.

Amaya lifted her head and glanced once again at the white board at the front of the class. She read the elegant words once more purely out of boredom.

_A Rough Guide to the Human World_

_as taught by Ulquiorra_

At first Aizen had been reluctant to grant Amaya's request to venture into the unknown and possibly dangerous territory of the humans in order to complete the task she had been set, but quite suddenly he had changed his mind. The reasons for this shift was mysterious to Amaya, but she guessed it had something to do with this idea he had sprung up with. It was, after all, the perfect opportunity to educate the arrancar in the key features of the other world that they would sometime be ordered to invade.

Yammy had suggested Ulquiorra to teach the class, knowing just how good a teacher he could be, and Aizen had agreed immediately. So now she was sat at the front of a short row, Yammy to her right and Nnoitra to her left. She was just glad Grimmjow was on the other side of the room. She was in enough danger as it was already.

It amazed her that she had actually agreed to sit this class, but the more she thought about it, the more obvious it was that it was necessary. She couldn't just wander aimlessly through a land which she knew virtually nothing about, could she?

"Have you finished writing down the title, class?"

Ulquiorra's only reply was a gentle snoring coming from the back of the room. Amaya glanced around and saw Stark with his head on his desk, drool dripping from the corner of his mouth.

"Ulquiorra!" Yammy announced loudly as he raised his hand into the air and started waving.

"What?" the fourth Espada sounded bored already. Yammy lowered his arm and asked the question that had been burning oh so brightly in his mind.

"Can I write in green?"

Ulquiorra sighed.

"Yes Yammy, you may write in green." Ulquiorra answered before turning to another one of his 'students'. He could already tell this was going to be a problem class. "Grimmjow, get your feet off the desk"

"Don't wanna." Grimmjow muttered disheartened as his feet remained firmly on the desk in front of him.

"Your insolence is only second in precedence to your stupidity."

"Shut it, Szayel!" Grimmjow shouted at the scientist beside him. Szayel readjusted the beanie hat on his head so that it hid the blonde from prying eyes and shook his head slowly as if ashamed of Grimmjow's words.

"Grimmjow, just get your feet off the desk." Ulquiorra intervened before a major fight broke out amongst his students.

Grimmjow huffed and did as told. The sooner Ulquiorra started this damn lesson, the sooner it would be over with.

Amaya slumped in her chair as despair washed over her. She just wanted to learn important details about the human world so she could get this task over and done with. Unfortunately, that prospect now appeared unlikely to happen any time soon. If only Aizen had given her a book or something simple like that; it would have been so much easier than trapping the Espada in this cage of a classroom, each ready to disembowel the others at the slightest opportunity.

"Good." Ulquiorra continued, "Now we can continue with learning what we are supposed to. I believe the first thing on the list is politics-"

"I like the dark"

"We _know_, Aaroniero, we _all_ know." Halibel pointed out as she sat with her arms crossed across her chest - not that that helped much with concealing what her jacket failed to do so.

"Now many countries in the human world are what they call a democracy," Ulquiorra continued ignoring the mindless interruptions, "which means the leader is chosen by an election or vote-"

"Not by a fight?" Nnoitra shouted unable to hide his shock.

"No"

Nnoitra gasped.

"Madness, I tell you! Humans're all mad!" he continued yelling into the air about the monstrous idea that a leader was not chosen on physical strength. "If it's done like that, what's ta stop a woman reaching power?"

Nnoitra winced when the large book halted its journey through the air and landed forcefully on top of his head. Halibel sat with a smug glimmer in her eyes.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you to respect ladies?" she asked venomously. Nnoitra glared at her.

"No!" he cried defiantly.

Yammy's hand shot back up into the air.

"Ulquiorra! Are you my mommy?"

Speaking up slightly as to be heard over the din that was now coming from an outraged Nnoitra, Ulquiorra stood in front of Yammy's desk and peered down at the tenth Espada soberly.

"No"

"Then who is? Is Grimmjow my mommy?" Yammy started shouting, confused about the matter of where he got half his chromosomes from.

Scraping could be heard as Grimmjow immediately pushed the chair back and jumped to his feet.

"Fuck no!"

"Yammy," Ulquiorra said, still ignoring Nnoitra's complaints about the injustice of having a woman of higher rank than he. Yammy was about to do some serious learning. "To be a mommy one has to be female, seeing as neither Grimmjow nor I fit that description-"

"That's right, emo boy there doesn't have a gender; he's neuter." Stark interjected, apparently having been woken by all the commotion.

Ulquiorra continued despite the insult.

"-neither of us can possibly be your mother."

"Then do I not have a mommy?" Yammy screamed as tears started welling up in his eyes. "That's not fair! Tousen is Wonderwice's mommy! Why can't I have one? Ulquiorra! I want a mommy! How can-"

Ulquiorra had just about had enough. He reached up and rubbed the temple that wasn't blocked by his mask with his thumb, trying to block out the traces of a migraine setting up shop in his brain.

"Fine, Yammy, I am your mommy. I was just trying to hide it from you before so that it would be a surprise when I told you."

"Really, Ulquiorra?" Yammy shouted as a new found hope dawned upon him.

Szayel went to flick his hair back when he realised that it was still firmly kept under the hat.

"Well, there's an insult to scientific research everywhere if I've ever seen one."

"Can Grimmjow be my daddy?"

"No! No! No!"

"Sure, Yammy, Grimmjow is your daddy."

"What the hell? No! I refuse!"

"You do realise that makes Yammy you and Grimmjow's illegitimate lovechild, don't you?"

"Yes, Szayel, that would be correct."

"I am not that thing's _daddy_! And there's no way in hell I could ever have a _lovechild_ with that freak!"

"At least there isn't a woman involved!"

"Nnoitra, why are you so obsessed with women?"

"Because they suck! Ow! Halilbel! Stop throwing things! Stark! Do something!"

"Not my problem."

"Yay! Now I have a mommy and a daddy!"

"For the last time, I am _not_ your daddy! No! Don't hug me!"

"I think one word that would describe this situation perfectly would be 'stupid'."

"Szayel! Don't just sit there analysing! Get this thing off of me!"

"I'd rather not."

"Halibel! This is why I don't like women; ya keep throwing things at me!"

_Smack_

Amaya groaned as she slammed her head down onto the desk in front of her repeatedly. No one even seemed to notice the Numero that could only be aiding the onslaught of brain damage that would surely come as a result of all these head injuries.

Why did this always happen?

Every single time they were in the same room for more than two minutes...

How did Aizen manage to remain alive after all this time? Those meetings he held so dear must be more dangerous than entering a fight with a livid mother rhinoceros after her child was threatened. Amaya didn't like to imagine it.

Amaya had almost lost all hope at ever getting out of this room in a better state than the mangled remains that once could have been a humanoid form when a voice rang through and shattered the air around them.

All fighting immediately stopped.

Even Stark seemed to wake up a bit.

Amaya gazed gratefully at the intruder.

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything."

---

**Okies, there we are. Quite short I know, and not much happened, but at least I updated.**

**Oh yeah, and the thing about Tousen having no body is true. Just go look at that pic of Aizen and Gin where he's in the background for no reason whatsoever, its on the wiki page for each of those characters I think, and you'll see it. Where his legs should be is just a black abyss.**

**Now I should really go and at least start my history coursework which I was supposed to hand in last Wednesday. Ahhhhh!! So. Much. Work. **

**I'm dead.**

**Reviewy please?**


	11. A Journey Begins

**Well, hello there, long time no see.**

**Unfortunately, I've been swamped with work. I've done most of my coursework now, really just art exam prep left. Now though I've got revision to do. I've GCSEs next month, which are like important exams in the UK, so I'm revising most days with my mates.**

**But not a particular **_**someone**_** who's far too busy gallivanting off in Sicily with her Classics friends to spend time with her beloved peeps. Hmmph... like I care...**

**But revision means that things may continue to be a bit slow, I humbly apologise. Can you ever forgive me? Wahhh! Probably not! I'm a useless person. Shameful!**

**Chapter 10: A journey begins**

--

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything."

With the appearance of the man in the doorway all commotion immediately halted. The piercing eyes gazed across the room, inspecting each of the occupants in turn. Finally, they settled on Amaya and seemed to remain there for a few seconds.

Amaya shivered.

"Well this is a surprise, seeing you here," Stark muttered absent-mindedly. The interrupter's stare slowly shifted from Amaya and onto the Espada. "Aizen-sama."

A small smile slid its way across Aizen's features and Amaya thought he might chuckle.

He did not.

"I was just inspecting how the lesson was coming along." He spoke softly, yet his voice held the kind of power that only some serious echo-work could. "You are all causing quite a ruckus it seems."

"It's his fault!" Grimmjow yelled hurriedly before pointing a single accusing finger at Ulquiorra.

"I doubt that very much, Grimmjow." Aizen said calmly while smiling at the sixth Espada. Grimmjow gulped under the threatening look he was receiving from his superior. Placidly, Aizen began walking across the room and towards the back row of desks. He stopped beside one in particular. "Barragan, if you would be so kind"

The old man grumbled something under his breath before standing. Amaya thought she heard the words 'I don't know, youths today...' but under the creaking sounds of his bones as he moved, she could not be certain. Aizen promptly sat in Barragan's empty chair and Amaya winced when she heard the cracking of bones as the old guy plopped down on the floor.

"Please," Aizen spoke up again, "continue."

Not surprisingly, the rest of the lesson was completed without a single word spoken from anyone other than 'Ulquiorra-sensei'.

--

It had been a pleasant afternoon in Hueco Mundo when Aizen was spontaneously called away from his urgent tea-drinking and evil-plotting business.

The sky was dark. The moon was bright. Even the white sand seemed to glow against the pitch background.

It was truly a shame that Aizen had to be pulled away from the marvellous view in favour of more important matters, but what the bladder wants, the bladder gets.

Drinking that much tea really did play havoc with his parasympathetic nervous system.

Therefore, on this fine Hueco Mundo afternoon, it was slightly more than an inconvenience for Aizen to forget where the bathroom was.

He was checking behind every door in the immense tower of his new home for this prized room, when he quite accidentally stumbled across a rather peculiar sight. He immediately put on his scary face.

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything."

And thus was the story of how Aizen learned to hold it in.

--

"Are you absolutely positive this is what they wear?"

"Yep."

Amaya stared into the long mirror before her and examined the reflection staring right back. She could practically feel Gin's eyes burning into her back as he watched her scrutiny at the 'human world ensemble' he had so kindly picked out for her.

"Completely?"

"Yep."

Amaya narrowed her eyes at the looking-glass. Surely this couldn't be right.

It wasn't as if she hated the outfit completely. She had to admit the gold colour of the shirt did bring out the amber tint in her green eyes. Apart from that, however, there were several flaws with the clothes that she definitely did not agree with.

To put it bluntly - too low, too high, too short.

She wouldn't have had a problem with the silk shirt at all if it wasn't for the fact that it was so unbelievably tight that she couldn't even manage to fasten the top three buttons; revealing a nice section of flesh that she would rather have kept concealed. She was scared that if she tried to breathe it would simply pop open.

The dark pleated skirt could have also been something she would have considered wearing, if it had actually been more than a belt. Which it was not.

And that wasn't even starting on the thigh high socks and ankle boots.

Amaya's face suddenly fell as a thought occurred to her. Her dead-pan eyes looked over her shoulder in the mirror.

"You did this on purpose, didn't you?"

An innocent look crossed Gin's face in a completely inconspicuous way.

"I gave ya a choice." He replied in a don't-blame-me sort of voice. "If ya don't like tha', ya can always change."

He held up the other option he had offered Amaya in her choice of outfits and Amaya swiftly turned around as anger contorted her face. Flames of rage sprouted up from her feet and smoke collected above her head.

"They're not even clothes!" she yelled fiercely, pointing at the very small, lacy shreds of fabric Gin was holding. His smile never faltered.

"Don't mean they wouldn't look good on ya."

The flames sizzled slightly before Amaya forced herself to take a deep breath and they started to die down somewhat. Her eyes narrowed at Gin.

"I think I'm going to stick with these, thank you." She said plainly.

"Ok" Gin announced far too happily.

Amaya blinked.

Was that... a trap?

"Why do you have to be such a sly bastard all the time?" she grumbled at the ground as she turned back to the mirror. Her eyes widened as she felt too slithery hands creep around her waist from behind.

"Coz I know ya like it." Gin's whispering breath tickled Amaya's ear as he spoke, sending shivers down her spine. This only proved Gin's words to be correct and she could see the grin pasted onto his dangerously close lips in the mirror's image. Damn that grin. Damn it straight to hell.

"Enjoying yourself as usual, I take it?"

It took Amaya a moment to register that there was someone else in the room who had spoken. She was so wrapped up in her own deliciously tasty world to even notice that they had entered. However, this presence was blatantly obvious when she found Gin's serpentine arms had suddenly evaporated from around her waist and her whole body fell face-first onto the impossibly hard floor.

Gin did not offer to help her up.

"Kana-kun! What a surprise!" he instead announced as he walked towards their guest. He didn't even bother to turn his head and simply check that Amaya hadn't cracked her skull open and died.

A slight pout was on Amaya's dejected face as she got to her feet.

"Ichimaru, I am only here to inform you that the Garganta has been prepared for Silbido and she is to leave immediately." Tousen told Gin, the hatred clear in his tone.

"Wow, Kana-kun, ya didn't say justice once in tha' sentence! Ya must be goin' through puberty or somin'."

From the lines on Tousen's forehead, it was apparent that he was attempting to narrow his eyes behind the visor. Without dignifying Gin's mocking with a response, he simply turned and started floating out of the room. When he was quite a way away, Amaya swore she heard a solitary word uttered out of his mouth.

'Justice."

Amaya giggled.

"I'd better be going then, hadn't I?" she said lightly after the giggles has ceased. She had only taken a couple of steps past Gin on her voyage to the door when she was stopped.

"Jus' a sec, Maya-kun."

"What do-" the question was caught on Amaya's lips and couldn't take off as she felt Gin's body heat once again emanating against her back.

"Jus' want ta complete yar outfit for ya." He whispered into her ear. Amaya felt a light pressure around her neck, which soon vanished, and Gin's hands rested upon her shoulders. She instinctively reached a hand up to see what was happening. Her fingers were met with the soft touch of a thin slice of material.

"What is it?" she whispered back, her fingers stroking the ribbon around her neck.

"Oh, nothin'."

Amaya held in the gasp that was threatening to escape at the feeling of Gin's breathing against her throat. She failed when Gin made his next move.

"Did-" she stuttered disbelievingly, "Did you just _lick_ me?"

"Well, ya jus' looked so tasty then."

"Ichimaru-sama, I have to go..." she let out not at all whole-heartedly.

Gin's body heat vanished from behind her.

He appeared in front of her, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh yeah!" he smiled at her. "Well, see ya, Maya-kun!"

Amaya only grumbled as she skulked out of the room and away from a happily waving Gin.

--

One conclusion had been formulated, without any hesitation on the subject, by few Arrancar. The reason the numbers to have come to this conclusion were so low was purely because few had had the chance to come to such a conclusion. For surely, if they had been given the chance, not only many, but indeed most, of the Arrancar population would believe in this very same conclusion. In fact it would take the bravest of arrancar to deny that this simple conclusion was true, and then they would be most likely lying. This conclusion was pure and simple fact.

Gigai were itchy.

At first Amaya had been too distracted by Gin's feeble excuses for clothing to really notice. It had been strangely uncomfortable, but she hadn't been particularly aware of the itchiness.

Now, however, while standing in the middle of a large empty room, save for a very silent Tousen observing in the corner, there was nothing to distract her from the onslaught of scratching desires.

The feeling was not a pleasant one.

"Silbido," Tousen finally decided to speak up from his little corner which, as soon as arriving in Las Noches, he had 'justified'. Just what the 'justifying' process involved no one knew, and no one liked to guess. "You are not to deter from your task. That is final. To do so would be incurring something completely..."

Amaya waited for it.

"... non-justice."

Amaya nodded her head in understanding.

"Then you may leave."

"Yes sir." The words had barely left her mouth before a large ripping sound erupted from the air and a great black abyss appeared from nowhere before her.

Amaya gulped.

She stepped through.

--

From the shadows of a narrow alleyway somewhere in downtown Tokyo, two eyes watched expectantly.

It was sometime after one in the morning he estimated and the small patch of green which he was looking out on was deserted in the dark. It wasn't likely that anyone would come to this tiny park area at this time of night. If anyone did, then they would probably be stone drunk anyway and no one would believe their tale.

That was the main reason why Aizen had chosen this spot out of the many possibilities.

Another was the nature of Tokyo itself.

In this city of businessmen and women, celebrities, housewives, school children, unruly youths, drunks, the homeless, and plain freaks, you could do virtually anything and just be classified as 'another one of those-'. The people were so diverse that even someone who hadn't stepped foot in this very world for centuries could go unnoticed.

It was therefore a perfect setting for a lone invasion.

The dark new moon cast no shadow and the only light source was that from a single yellow street lamp, the flickering luminosity shimmering across the surface of the old fountain. He guessed the stone at the bottom of the water hadn't been cleaned in years and that a nice thick layer of scum currently rested there. The thought was one that made him smile, for he knew what was about to occur.

Sure enough, as if hearing his silent thoughts, the now familiar tearing sound echoed through the deserted the park.

It cut short.

Silence.

Then, of course...

_Splash!_

"Argh! So not cool!"

Quietly, as to not be noticed from the alleyway, Gin giggled.

Amaya raised a sodden arm out from the murky liquid she had so gracefully smashed into and picked a piece of dead leaf off of her skin. From the look on her face, Gin guessed that she was not amused.

His grin widened.

Slowly, Amaya stood. She slipped a couple of times, only succeeding in getting more covered in the slop than before, before actually managing the giant achievement of climbing out of the death trap fountain.

"Why me?" she mused to herself.

Gin had an answer to that question, but didn't quite feel like divulging it to her at the present time.

Amaya ran a hand through the long tresses of her crimson hair and her face contorted in disgust at the sopping tangles. She must have decided that they would only get in the way, for she then gathered them together and tied them up in a band at the back of her head, locks still covering the right side of her face and a few rowdy strands on the left. She looked down to inspect her saturated clothes.

Gin also looked.

He felt even more pleased about his choice now that they were clinging nicely to her form. He truly was a genius of fashion.

"No way! That's not what I heard!"

Amaya's head snapped up at the voices now heading towards her.

"Well you heard wrong, didn't you?!"

Amaya looked around her, in search of somewhere to run or hide.

"Pfft, I heard better than you, dumbass!"

Amaya wasn't acting fast enough.

"Who're you calling a dumbass?!"

Gin watched.

"Who d'you thi-"

Too late.

--

**I wanted to make this one longer, but I ran out of juice. Sorry bout that, better than nothing I suppose.**

**The parasympathetic nervous system is what is signalled when your bladder gets stretched in order to tell the detrusor muscle to contract, making you pee.**

**Oh yeah, before I forget, someone (sorry cant remember who) drew an awesome pic of Amaya for me! YAYAY! I feel loved! Anyway, the links on my profile, as is the link to my DeviantART where a new pic of Amaya should be appearing some time in the future. I've been working on it for ages... well, when I say work I mean five minutes then 3 days rest... only got to redo the outlines now so should be up soon, if I can force my brother to get his lazy arse off the main comp for ten minutes.**

**OMG Vampire Knight anime out! Tis awesomeness. Vampires rule. I vaant to suck your blaaad!**

**Another reason this one took forever to get out is that I've been a bit distracted with manga. I got another 3 volumes of Gravitation off Amazon and read them super quickly since I love them to bits. I've also been reading Let Dai, no one I know seems to have heard of it, but it is now among my faves...**

**Ok seriously rambling now**

**Is it wrong to fancy Baron from the cat returns? My brother says it is...**

**Life can be good  
****Life can be bad  
****But not having reviews  
****Is what makes me sad**


	12. You Have No Pants!

**AMAGAI IS A FILLER CHARACTER AND THEREFORE HAS NO SOUL!! HE IS NOT INTEGRAL TO THE PLOT!!**

**Ok, just thought I'd get that out of the way. Seriously, though, who does he think he is? Stomping in all high and mighty and **_**STEALING**_** Gin's toys... very not cool. Besides, he is so dull. Waahhhh!! Ginny should totally stab him in the eye...**

**And to top it off, this filler arc is just delaying the inevitable awesomeness of Byakuya swooping down and being awesome in his awesome ways... (except saving Rukia, he could have just let her die)**

**This entire chapter is dedicated to revision because Rhea is here and we need to revise for GCSEs. If we don't get the right grades then we will actually get kicked out of school. This means it might be a bit silly, but we'll try to fit every subject in there at some point. See if you can spot the 15 different subject references?**

**Chapter 11: You have no pants!**

--

"Who d'you thi-"

Too late.

Amaya frowned confused, wondering if this was some kind of greeting. She thought that if this was the case, it was the least she could do to be polite.

She held out her hand towards the boys that stood in the clearing.

She smiled.

"Who _d'you_ thi?"

The boys eyed her suspiciously, wondering what kind of alien had been beamed down without them noticing; Martian or Moontian?

At getting no response, Amaya thought she should try again. She walked up to the bleached-blonde-haired kid.

"Who- d'you- thi?" she repeated, sounding out every syllable clearly as to not be misheard.

One boy chose to speak up.

"WTF?"

Once again, Amaya was baffled. Was this more of a secret military code? Had she been transported into a war zone by mistake? Well, if they were going to speak code, then so could she!

"Sprechen Sie deutsch?"

The boys blinked.

She tried again.

"Parlez vous francais?"

The boys shook their heads slowly.

Amaya gave up. They obviously weren't the experts in cryptography they made themselves out to be. She chose to revert back to normal Japanese.

"Uh, hi," she received blank stares. "you wouldn't happened to know if there's a hotel nearby would you?"

The boys grinned dopily as if they had struck oil. This was obviously their night.

Amaya was glad to see they were friendly.

"Do you wanna get a room, then?" one boy drunkenly slurred. The other giggled dim-wittedly.

Amaya continued to smile.

"Yeah! Can you show me the way?"

"Hell yes! It's over there." He cried over-enthusiastically, pointing down a road behind her. She turned and peered in the direction he was showing her.

"Down there? It's pretty dark. Oh, is that Cassiopeia in the sky? How beautiful! The hotel's not too expensive is i-"

Amaya stopped speaking. She turned around in a circle and looked for any sign of life. There was none.

"Hello?" she called out. She got no reply. The boys had seemingly vanished. All that remained was two pairs of shoes. Amaya counted; two shoes in two pairs. This meant there were four shoes in total. Therefore there were four feet that should have occupied these shoes. Their absence was noted. Four feet – that meant two people; unless they were mutants and one had three while the other only had one. But surely she would have noticed something like that.

Amaya wondered where they had gotten too.

Or, she frowned to herself, whether they were ever there at all.

--

From the depths of the alleyway, something was stirring.

Something sinister.

Something cruel.

Something that would have gone well with chocolate buttons and ice cream.

Gin resisted the urge to giggle. He was especially proud of his latest accomplishment.

He had managed not to kill someone.

The reason for this – just a little man named Moses.

Truthfully, he was going to kill them, but then a certain sentence came flashing into his mind and he thought that, maybe, for this one time, he might not resort to murder.

_Exodus 20:13  
THOU SHALT NOT KILL_

So he hadn't.

The two bodies slumped against the wall.

He had simply settled for knocking them out instead.

No matter what the situation, Gin did not share his toys.

--

Amaya's nose twitched. She felt cold and uncomfortable. She felt something sharp jabbing into her right arm. It was not a pleasant experience.

Slowly, she urged her eyes to flicker open. She was met with the sight of grey. Endless grey.

And yet the jabbing wouldn't stop.

She turned her head to the right. She caught a quick glimpse of the little boy with the stick before he disappeared into the bushes. Over the gentle singing of the birds around her she heard a cry.

"Miruji! Stay away from that woman! She might have Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus! That was a mouthful, but it still counts! Get away from her!"

Amaya blinked and rubbed her eyes as she sat up, trying to remember where exactly she was. This didn't look like her bedroom in Las Noches. There was far less white for one. For another, there weren't any walls. Or ceiling. Or a bed for that matter. In fact she didn't ever recall planting trees in or inviting humans into her bedroom. And the clouds. Why were there grey clouds overcastting her? If this was a dream, then she must have had some freaky shit last night.

It took the confused arrancar at least ten minutes to realise that she was in fact not in her bedroom, or actually Hueco Mundo. She was, in all reality, lying on a park bench in the middle of Tokyo.

Her nose did another twitch.

She felt strange.

Her head felt heavy and her mind was unfocused. Her nose wanted to do something. She wasn't sure what. It felt itchy, tingly almost.

For some inexplicable reason, she found herself taking short inhaling breaths.

Then, quite dramatically, her nose exploded.

She jumped up and waved her arms in the air.

"Help! My nose! It just exploded! But I can still breathe; it's ok people!"

Miruji, who was only encouraged by his mother's disapproval, edged towards the strange lady with red hair.

"Miss, are you one of those nonconformists my mummy warned me about? She said that when I'm older they're going to come and steal me away and force me to marry a crazy lady who will trick me into murdering and eating our children."

Amaya's eyebrows knitted together.

"Sprechen Sie deutsch?"

It was the boy's turn to frown.

"Ja, mein Vater ist eine Papagai!" he answered excitedly, recognising the German language, but not being able to speak a sentence that would make sense.

Amaya frowned again.

Unless this was a special dialect, she was pretty certain the boy had just called his father a parrot.

While thinking about this, she noticed that despite her nose exploding, it still appeared to be attached to her face.

She brought her hand up to check its intactness. Frankly, she was amazed.

"What are doing to your nose, lady?" Miruji asked while tilting his head to the side.

"It's... it's... still there..." she breathed out astonished, "but... it exploded..."

"You mean that sneeze?"

"A whatwhatwhat? A wheeze? I do not wheeze. This is a wheeze-free zone."

The boy looked at her as if she was a plank.

"I said _sneeze_."

Amaya bent down so that she was level with the boy's face.

"What is this sneeze that you speak of?"

Miruji looked thoughtful for a second, wondering how best to describe this new thing.

"It's kinda like coughing... out of your nose..."

Amaya thought about this. It seemed fairly ridiculous as a concept. People had mouths. They should cough out of those. Who needs to cough out your nose when you had a mouth? This sneezing business was not necessary to perform the basic functions that allowed one to live. It was chemically inept.

She was about to say something on this matter when she was interrupted by none other than little Miruji's mother.

"Miruji! What are you doing, you twit? Get away from that woman now! Otherwise you'll end up having intercourse with a turtle! That's what nonconformists do to you! They make you have intercourse with turtles! I didn't have to repeat that sentence but I felt it needed reiterating. Turtles - I tell you! Tuuurrtlless!"

Amaya was unsure what to do. This woman appeared to be quite the nonconformist.

Miruji sighed as if he was used to this sort of behaviour.

"Tuuurrrttlllllleeeesss!"

Miruji tugged on his mother's sleeve as she continued waving an accusing finger at Amaya.

"Mummy, this lady is sick."

"Oh my gosh!" she instantly said and grabbed Amaya's shoulders. "Are you ok?"

Amaya nose exploded again, into Miruji's mother's face. She reeled back and covered her snotty face with her hands.

"No! Zombie boy! Fetch my decontamination spray from my handbag! I shall not become a nonconformist!"

"Uh, mummy, we ran out of that a long time ago."

"No! But that special benzoic acid with nine carbons, eight hydrogens and four oxygens had a particular molar mass of one hundred and eight point one six grams per moles! There is no way to replace it!"

Amaya had been listening carefully. Something stuck in her head.

"Isn't that just normal aspirin?" she asked. The frantic woman shook her by the shoulders.

"Oh my god! You're right! Off to the pharmacy we go!" she suddenly grabbed Miruji by the sleeve and started dragging him away. She paused and pointed at Amaya. "You have to come to!"

Amaya took a step back in surprise.

"Why?"

"To cure you!"

"From what?"

"The nonconformacy!"

Amaya walked towards her and shrugged. She might as well follow this woman, if anything just to make sure Miruji wasn't inadvertently eaten by this nonconformist mother of his.

"But how do we get there?" she asked

"Using the magic school bus!"

Amaya followed without reluctance to where a group of people stood around a tall stick. After a few minute a large white vehicle pulled up. Amaya whispered to Miruji excitedly.

"Is that the magic school bus?"

Miruji looked at her oddly.

"No." He stated. "This is just a normal bus."

They stepped onto the vehicle and sat down in the old seats. Miruji's mother stood and pointed forwards.

"Ms. Frizzle! Get this bus moving!" she shouted to the male bus driver. "Yahoooo!"

Miruji dragged his mother into a seat. She stood up again.

"No! My name is Fujou Mariko and I shall not be confined! As they say; I can shoot all the blue jays I want, but it is a sin to kill a mockingbird!"

--

Gin peered over the top of the morning newspaper.

Of all of the things that could possibly happen, he definitely wasn't expecting this.

--

The small bell at the top of the door jingled as they pushed through the ianua.

Mariko caught sight of the sales assistant and frowned.

"Are you a lizard?" she asked the man. His eyes widened.

"Just answer the question." Miruji said, bored already.

"Er, no."

Miruji's mother looked satisfied.

"Hah! That proves it! You _are_ a lizard! Hitler was a lizard! He lied... lots." She turned to the other two and wagged her finger. "And so was his dog!"

Miruji, giving up, turned and started to wander around the store.

Amaya stood and started thinking about what Mariko had said.

"How could Hitler be a lizard?"

"Didn't I just tell you? He lied! Lizards also lie! Make the connection! Hitler was alive for fifty six years! And for every day of those fifty six years he lied! He was also a nonconformist! The biggest of them all! He kept a turtle in his cupboard! And he never put his pants on!"

Amaya left Mariko to her rant and went over to the shop assistant.

"She needs some aspirin." She told him indicating Mariko. She leaned forwards towards him and whispered as if it were a secret. "I think she may need something else too."

The pharmacist came out of the back hearing the ruckus, took one look at Mariko and went back into the workroom. A few seconds later he returned with a medicine vial. He handed it to Amaya.

"I think she may have high blood pressure." He said to Amaya. "Give her this two times a day before meals. And don't worry, it's free, as long as you get her out of this shop in the next ten seconds; she's scaring away my customers."

Amaya thanked him and dragged a screaming Mariko out of the shop. Miruji followed silently behind.

"No! I shall not be ignored! I will not be the turtle! I have a voice!"

Miruji noticed that Amaya was holding something in her hand other than the aspirin.

"What's that?"

She read the labels.

"Methyldopa." she said slowly, trying to get the right pronunciation. Something clicked inside her head. Where had she heard that word before? Suddenly she realised. This was what she was here for in the first place. Yammy had asked for methyldopa and she was the delivery girl.

Amaya looked around and noticed that Mariko was no longer there.

Miruji looked around also.

"Oh my gosh, where's my mother?"

And then they heard it.

"No! Why are the eyes where your mouth should be? Look at my face! Are my eyes where my mouth is? Is it? Is it? Use your eyes!"

The two turned to where the din was echoing from. And there she was; Mariko shouting at some innocent street painter. Miruji slapped his hand to his forehead.

"But, it's in the style of Picasso." the painter spoke up.

"No! Picasso was blind! And he only had one ear!"

"But wasn't that Van Gog-"

"No! It was the lizards! Picasso was Hitler's uncle lizard! He also wore no pants!"

Miruji walked up to his mother and started trying to calm her, which included drugging her with aspirin.

Amaya thought this might be the perfect opportunity.

She checked she still had the Methyldopa.

She legged it.

Mariko shoved Miruji away from her. He sighed and gave up. Then he noticed Amaya's absence.

He saw her turn a street corner and decided to follow her.

Safely away from Mariko's rampant lizard talks, Amaya stopped and tried to catch her breath. She wasn't made for running.

"No!"

Amaya's head whipped up at the noise. Miruji rounded the corner and ran straight towards her.

"Where are you going?"

"Away from your mother." She said blankly, not even bothering to cover the truth.

Miruji shrugged.

"Fair dues."

He looked slightly despondent. She looked at him with pity.

"Maybe I'll come visit sometime." She offered not really wanting to leave this boy alone with his mother for too long.

--

Around the corner, trouble was brewing.

Suddenly and quite dramatically, Mariko fell over.

"Oh my gosh! Who pushed me over?"

"No one!" the artist said, holding onto his work and watching the buildings shake warily. "It's an earthquake!"

He paused.

"Did you know," he mentioned, "that earthquakes are caused by tensional plate boundaries rubbing against each other and the released energy turns into seismic waves that are transverse?"

"I don't care! Put some bloody pants on!"

"But I am wearing pants..."

"Fair dues. And where is my son?"

--

Amaya grabbed Miruji and pulled him out of the way of falling rubble. He screamed. She screamed.

The building fell on them.

Gin watched in amusement.

--

Amaya choked on some dust, opened her eyes and looked around. Lumps of rock debris were scattered around and, more importantly, trapping her in this small crevice. It was a good thing she was an arrancar, otherwise she may have been squashed.

Curled up against her stomach, was a quietly sobbing Miruji.

Amaya patted his head, trying to comfort him.

"Don't worry, Miruji, we'll be saved soon." She whispered to him gently.

He sniffed.

"But what if they don't find us? What if we run out of oxygen? What if we have to resort to cannibalism? I don't want to become a nonconformist!"

"Don't worry; you still have your pants."

Miruji looked at her, frowning.

"I think you've spent too much time with my mother."

"Yeah, well, that wasn't intentional." She stated.

"It never is..." Miruji murmured sorrowfully. "I don't have a choice..."

Amaya couldn't help but feel sorry for the child.

"It can't be that bad?"

"It is!" he shouted. Amaya saw the tears in his eyes. "I always have to look after her! Everyone makes fun of me because my mother thinks they're nonconformists and that my principal is a lizard! I've never had any friends! Never!"

He looked down. Amaya had never had this problem. She didn't have a crazy mother. The only thing that prevented her becoming friends with everyone was herself, and the fact that no one was really very nice in Las Noches.

"Yes you have." She said. Miruji looked up confused. "I'll be your friend."

His eyes filled to the brim with hope. He was about to say something but was cut off by the movement of one of the rocks trapping them.

"Miruji! Where are you? Mummy's here!"

Miruji sighed.

Mariko reached into the hole, grabbed her son by the collar and hauled him out.

"Come on, Miruji! We have to go home! I need to finish my multiple criteria queries for that database!"

Amaya made to follow him, but Mariko blocked her path.

"Stay back, nonconformist! And put some pants on!"

And with that she shoved Amaya back into the hole and blocked the exit off with a large boulder.

"Tuuurrrtllees!"

And that was the last word that Amaya heard.

--

Gin looked at the clock.

Two hours had passed since Mariko had left with Miruji.

He thought maybe enough time had passed.

He walked over towards the pile of debris and kicked a couple of rocks.

He then ran away.

--

Amaya heard the movement of rocks before she saw the shard of light filtering through the rubble.

She burst through and squinted in the daylight.

People were looking at her.

She wondered which one had helped her escape.

--

**Did you spot them, eh eh? We'll give you a list so you can tick them off on the piece of paper I'm sure you've written them all down on;**

**English – alliteration 'boys blinked' and random techniques  
English Lit – quote from To Kill A Mockingbird... the bit about blue jays  
Maths – the problem of the disappearing feet  
Physics – transverse waves for earthquakes  
Chemistry – the chemical formula of aspirin  
Biology - MRSA  
RS – Exodus 20:13 THOU SHALT NOT KILL  
ICT – multiple criteria queries in databases  
German – sprechen sie deutsch?  
History - Hitler  
Art - Picasso  
Astronomy - Cassiopeia  
Latin – ianua door  
Greek – cryptography... from krupto and graph  
Geography - earthquakes**

**Rhea makes good blueberry muffins. Rose enjoys them muchness.**

**This one took us ten hours to write, you can tell that by the time Mariko entered we were pretty delirious. Rhea ended up having to stay over. Rose just stopped writing every five seconds and started laughing like Mutley from Catch the Pigeon.**

**Me and Rhea have nothing against nonconformists. They are fine. And most of them do wear pants. And I'm almost sure they don't keep turtles in their cupboards.**

**If you want to see where we got the inspiration for Mariko, check out the Yugioh Abridged Series. It's hilarious. Look at the episode called 'Marik's Evil Council of Doom part 1'.. Mariko's voice is Marik's.**

**Oh and anyone that reads the manga; SQUEAL!! Lil Ginny and Lil Byakuya! Awesomeness on a stick!**

**Seriousness will resume in the next chapter, whenever that may be. Exams, y'know...**

**Heres a lil tongue twister we thought up instead of a poem;  
****_Giggling Gin grinned greatly_**

**Try it, it's tough. Say it ultra fast.**

**For all of you that actually went back to find our subject references; we mock thee! You have no pants!  
****We jest**

**Leave a review... if you have pants**


	13. Human Interaction

**Sorry. Sorry! SORRY! SORRRRRYYYYY!!**

**I do know it has been like forever since the last chapter was out. You probably wont forgive me, either that or you've forgotten about me completely.**

**There are multiple reasons for my delayed absence and I explain these in the ending a/n. Please don't be too upset.**

**To make up for it this one is long, so at least theres a little goodness.**

**Oh, and in this chapter I have taken a certain amount of artistic license in my portrayal of Tokyo. Get over it.**

**Chapter 12: Human interaction**

--

Amaya stood in front of the strange shop and inspected the items through the glass.

This was where the lady had told her to go.

From the reaction she received, Amaya assumed that asking a complete stranger where one could find pink hair dye in Tokyo was not the usual custom. Or maybe it had something to do with her own hair colour, which, she noticed perceptively, was also not all that common here. Or it could even have been plain shock at the clothes she was wearing, which she overheard a few elderly women label as 'disgraceful'. Whatever the reason, Amaya had not predicted the stuttering, squealed answer she got to her question.

But that surprise was nothing compared to what she was feeling now.

It wasn't as if the shop looked out of place in its surroundings; more that the entire area had taken Amaya off guard.

Even arrancar didn't dress like this.

Wherever she turned her head, she was met with the blinding bombardment of colours. Compared with the almost completely white Las Noches, this sea of vibrancy made Amaya feel slightly dizzy. The amount of black present stood out like a sore thumb in the midst of the colour intensity. She also noticed that maybe, in this part of town, her own hair colour was not as outrageous as it had previously appeared.

Amaya stared at the shop, narrowed her eyes warily, and tried to decipher whether this was some sort of trap laid out by humans to catch evil spirits.

It took a good few minutes for her to decide that, even if it were a fiendish ploy to lure phantoms to an untimely demise, she would still have to brave it. Nothing these humans could come up with would be worse than the wrath of Szayel if he did not get his pink hair dye.

She took a deep breath.

She opened the door.

The small bell attached to the top of the door jingled as she stepped through. Amaya, already cautious, almost had a heart attack at the frightful sound.

"I'll be out in a minute!"

Again Amaya jumped out of her skin. The voice had come from the back of the store, or what she presumed was the back of the store through all the obstacles in the way.

"Umm, ok, thanks," Amaya called back.

She stepped further into the dark abyss. From the ceiling hung many strange objects, one looked rather like a toy bat, another like a fake dismembered cat's head. The black metal and glass shelves were arranged in narrow rows, brightly coloured clutter littering their surfaces. She could just about make out the form of clothing racks at the far end, but in the dim light could not make out what was on them. Loud music was pumping through the building; the lyrics adding to the already eerie atmosphere.

_Egoistically bent sadist  
Iron hammer of fragmented evil  
Lives snatched away  
Saturated with scoundrels, urgent, murder of criminals  
Verdict! "Human rights," "trouble," "hatred"_

These were obviously extremely happy people.

"Sorry to make you wait. Now what can I do fo-" The green haired man stopped speaking abruptly and stared at Amaya.

Amaya tried to force a polite smile onto her face and think of something to say.

"Err..."

She was cut off.

The man squealed.

"Oh my god! Just look at you!" the man quickly ran over to the puzzled arrancar and grinned like some sort of maniac. Amaya did as instructed and looked at herself. She couldn't see anything in particular that would inspire this reaction. She looked back up at the man with a puzzled expression on her face and tilted her head to the side.

His eyes glittered.

"You're soooo cute!"

Amaya blinked.

The man made that piercing squealing sound again.

"Oh, I could just eat you up right here!" as he said this, the man lifted his hand into the air then dropped it suddenly by the wrist as if it was some kind of wave. Amaya thought this practise was quite odd.

"Err…"

"Well, my name is Papa Nightshade-" the man took Amaya by the shoulders and started leading her further into the store continuing to talk at speed. Amaya could hardly understand the words his mouth was gushing. "-not my real name of course, but when you're in this business it helps if you have somewhat of an atmosphere around you. Some call me the King of Darkness! And between you me, some also call me the Queen. This store is my empire and these products are my loyal subjects! Although I must say some are far better-behaved than others. And I can tell now that you must be in dire need of some assistance for as the King – or Queen – it is in my royal nature to know these sorts of thi-"

"Takeshi!"

The man stopped his rant immediately at the sudden fierce voice.

Amaya was more than thankful for this.

A young woman sat on a stool behind the front counter of the shop that Amaya had been dragged to, calmly reading a magazine. She didn't even look up.

"You're scaring her."

Papa Nightshade, or Takeshi apparently, looked down at the ground.

"Sorry, Riko…"

Amaya felt like fainting right then and there. Something was seriously wrong here.

"Err…"

Again Amaya was cut off before she could even form a single audible word.

"Oh yes that's right!" Takeshi yelled, his mood picking right up again. "You were here looking for something, weren't you? Let me guess – an entire new wardrobe! Well, that is definitely something that I can help you with, because as I am the King in these lands I am the most suitable to help those in fashion needs! It is only-"

Amaya finally managed to gather her wits about her and sputter a few words out.

"No, that's not why I'm-"

"Oh, don't be shy now!" It still wasn't a whole sentence. "Now, first the King must ask the lady of her name?"

"Oh, err, Amaya, but really I-"

"Amaya! Well, isn't that just lovely, Riko? Such a pretty name the lady holds! I bet-"

As Takeshi continued rambling on about the joys and fortune that can be brought on a person by their name, spinning in circles as he did so, Amaya brought her eyes back to the girl behind the counter. She really wished she would interrupt him again.

Riko flipped a page in the magazine.

"Ignore my idiot of a brother. You get used to him after a while." She said still not looking up.

Amaya jumped when she suddenly felt someone's hands on her shoulders. She slowly turned her head sideways and was met with the terrifying view of Takeshi's face peering over her shoulder.

A sadistic grin was on his face.

An evil glint was in his eyes.

"Now, where shall we begin?"

--

This was not good.

Amaya tilted her head to the side and stared.

This was definitely not good.

Takeshi squealed and twirled around on the spot for about the fifth time in the same number of minutes.

"Doesn't she just look like a princess, Riko? Doesn't she?"

Amaya heard the magazine page turning.

"Not really."

Takeshi ignored his sister and squealed yet again. Amaya was sure her ears were about to explode.

"Now," he began, "usually all of this would cost, well, let's say, a lot, but since this is just so adorable I'll let you have it all for free!"

On the last word he spun again, raising his arms in the air.

Amaya was slightly confused to say the least.

"Huh?"

"Yep! Absolutely adorable!" Takeshi suddenly stopped spinning and looked off thoughtfully, "Kinda like kittens… or anthrax…"

"The disease?" Amaya questioned, wondering whether she should be insulted or not. Takeshi waved at her and giggled.

"Oh, you say that like it's a bad thing!"

Amaya deadpanned.

"Now off you go, little girl! And remember to tell all your little friends about us!" the eccentric said as he led Amaya by the shoulder towards the door of the shop. He had to actually shove her out of it, and then began waving again as he went back to his shop. "Adorable I tell you! Simply adorable!"

Amaya was still deadpanning as Takeshi took a great sniff of pride at his work and began to close the door, waving daintily all the way.

Then Amaya remembered something important.

She pointed at Takeshi right before the door was firmly shut.

"Pink hair dye!"

--

Gin checked the time again. She had already been in there an hour and a half.

How long did it take to purchase a box of hair dye?

Then, finally, the door to the little shop opened and Gin understood.

To be honest, he preferred the clothes he had picked out for her over the new ones. Although, he had to admit, the skirt did look rather nice, as Amaya stumbled around, flying up slightly higher than should have been acceptable.

Actually, the more he looked, the more he started to fully appreciate the ensemble.

Gin smiled.

Maybe maids' outfits were all they cracked up to be.

--

The streets of Tokyo could be a dangerous place – especially if you're a pretty young girl with flaming crimson hair dressed in a maid's costume.

At first this thought had not occurred to Amaya, and she wandered quite oblivious to the attention she was receiving, searching for someone who could possibly help with her next task.

However, soon she was made painfully aware of this fact.

"Excuse me," Amaya spoke up to make the people sitting on the wall realise she was there. It worked and their heads snapped up to meet her. "I was wondering if maybe you could help me wi-"

"Well, looky at what we found, eh? Y'know, sometimes you can spend half your life wishing and then suddenly the answer pops right up in your face." The boy in the yellow jacket who had interrupted Amaya stood and peered down at her. He was a good foot taller than she. To anyone else, the look he was giving her would have been slightly intimidating, but Amaya couldn't see the danger of a young human male.

"I'm sorry?" she asked confused. The two boys still sitting on the wall sniggered.

Yellow circled Amaya before draping his arm casually around her shoulder.

"Y'know, someone like yourself shouldn't be walking around this part of town all alone – never know what kind of creeps could be hanging about." He smirked at her. His eyes narrowed. Amaya just blinked. "Y'know, maybe if you had a bodyguard of some sort it would be cool?"

He looked back at his still sniggering friends.

"Guys, y'know anyone who could help with that?"

The two boys stopped sniggering and furrowed their eyebrows. One scratched his shaven head in contemplation. The other rubbed his chin. Baldie looked up, his eyes now wide.

"Us?" he asked Yellow while pointing at himself. Chin-rubber hit him on the head.

"Hey! I just thought of that! Don't steal my ideas!"

Baldie's hand went up to where he had been hit.

"Ow!" he complained. He then looked down apologetically. "Sorry, Hiro."

"And I told you," Chin-rubber continued, "my name's now H-man."

"But I thought it was Lovemonkey?"

"Idiot, that was so last week. Now I'm H-man." Chin-rubber looked particularly proud at that. Amaya couldn't imagine why.

Yellow sighed when Baldie was about to respond with something else.

"Enough! Can't you guys see we have company?" he nodded towards Amaya. It was now when she actually realised just how tight his hand was gripping her shoulder. She shifted her weight trying to loosen the hold. Yellow only gripped tighter.

"Um, I'm sorry but all I wanted was to ask you if-" For the hundredth time today Amaya was cut off.

"If we had some free time to hang out with you? Well, I suppose we might."

Amaya was confused. That wasn't what she wanted to ask these people. Why would they possibly think that? Humans certainly were far less perceptive than Arrancar.

"No, I-"

"Really? Y'wanna hang out with us?" Baldie asked surprised. "But girls never wanna hang out with us!"

"Speak for yourself, Fattie, I get tonnes of chicks running after me!" Chin-rubber argued. Somehow, Amaya doubted the honesty of those words. Maybe he had meant to say running _from_ him, but he had simply mistakenly let out the wrong word. Or maybe he didn't actually know the difference between the words. Or maybe human females were just that odd.

"Really? What girls? Do they have any friends I could meet?"

Again Yellow sighed.

"Enough! Of course she wants to hang out with us, who wouldn't? Now," he turned his attention back to Amaya, "where do you wanna go? I know this great little place wi-"

Finally, Amaya was not the one to be cut off.

The book had landed on Yellow's head quite suddenly and with enough force to stop him in his tracks. Slowly, he tipped sideways. Then, he fell with a flop onto the concrete ground.

Baldie looked at him.

"Hey, you alright?"

Yellow didn't reply.

"Oh, I am terribly sorry." Amaya noticed for the first time what had caused the book to land on Yellow's skull. The old man wore an old-fashioned cream suit. His grey hair was hidden under a bowler hat. Perched on his nose was a pair of rusting circular spectacles, of which, Amaya noticed, one lens was missing. In one hand he held a black cane, in the other the tattered brown book. He continued talking to the inanimate Yellow on the ground. "I was simply walking by and quite suddenly my arm seemed to fly out all of its own accord. I do apologise."

Baldie poked Yellow.

"Why are you sleeping in the middle of the afternoon?"

The aging gentleman turned to Amaya and bowed.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Eugene Binkleworth. I'm British, don't you know? I enjoy drinking tea and playing croquet on the lawn. The fox-hunting ban really got on my nerves."

"Err, hi." Amaya said uncertainly.

"I am also a professor at the local university. I lead an enjoyable life here in Japan. After my nephew burnt down our family estate in Somerset, here is where I found my peace, although the lack of croquet playing and quail shooting is highly disappointing."

Amaya didn't know quite how to respond to that.

"Would you care to join me for a tad of afternoon tea?" he asked smiling.

Amaya blinked. This man seemed honourable enough.

"Sure." She said blankly.

"Perfect!" Eugene exclaimed before taking Amaya's still confused arm and leading her away from the scene where Baldie was still poking Yellow and Chin-rubber was again rubbing his chin in thought.

Humans could be strange.

--

Gin had been watching intently as the scene played out.

If the kid wearing yellow had managed to convince Amaya to go with him, then he may have been forced to interfere again. This time he may not have stopped at just knocking them out.

This time the brat had actually touched her.

Gin was a spoilt child really.

No human was going to touch _his_ toys.

--

"And then Alice is applauded by her family and that is the end of the book." Eugene finished recounting the entire plot line of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and sat smiling. Amaya only hoped he wasn't going to start on Alice through the Looking Glass. Eugene held out the elegant tea pot. "More tea?"

"Umm, no I'm ok thanks." She replied quietly.

"Or perhaps a crumpet?"

"No, I'm really fine, thank you."

"Or maybe a cucumber sandwich?"

"No, it's alright."

Eugene raised an eyebrow in her direction.

"I'm British, don't you know?"

"Yes, I think you mentioned." Amaya said while looking at her hands on the table in front of her. Frankly, she was amazed that a little tea shop like this existed in central Tokyo. It was just so, so... _British_.

"Oh, good, only I sometimes have a habit of not mentioning crucial information like that, I suppose it's just a side-effect of my work." Eugene passed a hand through his grey hair as if he was proud of that. Amaya remembered something.

"Oh yeah, what sort of professor are you anyway?" she asked hoping this would distract Eugene enough for him to forget about the sequel to Lewis Carrol's amazingly British book.

"That would be a Professor of Modern Culture of the Dorset town of Weymouth – the best actually! Well... to be honest there aren't that many of us around... only one in fact... that would be me! And that is even more reason for me to be the foremost thinker in this area of knowledge!"

Amaya furrowed her eyebrows.

"Do you get many students for a subject like that?" she asked carefully, not wanting to be rude. Eugene looked saddened for a moment.

"Well, no," he admitted, "in fact at this present moment in time I do not have any, but I'm sure that is only because of the students' fear of the course being too exciting! Next year, surely..."

She nodded, feeling something akin to sympathy for the man in front of her.

"Anyway, may I ask you, young Silbido-san, two questions of utmost importance?"

"Sure," Amaya smiled kindly at the gentleman.

"Firstly, I was simply wondering why you are dressed like my old house staff from my life in England?"

She grimaced.

"It's kind of a long story."

"Oh, well, that is fine then. I was only curious because of the memories it induced in my soul. Ah, to be a young man with house staff that catered your needs! Those were simpler times…" he looked off thoughtfully at some unknown memory. He then suddenly snapped back to reality. "Secondly, I would be grateful if you explained to me quite why you were talking to those young rapscallions earlier? You do not appear to be the sort of girl to do something quite so reckless."

Amaya's eyes widened as she suddenly realised the answer to his question.

"Oh! I was just going to ask them to help me with something! Maybe you could answer my question, though? You do seem knowledgeable."

"Why, of course! I would only be glad to offer my assistance!"

Amaya smiled and reached into her pocket. After a moment of rummaging she brought out the carefully folded paper. She handed it over to Eugene and pointed to one of the points on the page.

"It's just I've been set a task to gather these items, but I have no clue as to what this one actually means."

Eugene adjusted his spectacles. He then covered his left eye where the lens was missing. He nodded smugly.

"Well, you've come to the right person, my dear! This is simply a matter of modern culture – my specialist subject as I've already told you – well, that and croquet."

Amaya almost fell out of her seat in excitement.

"Really? What does it mean?" she said a bit too quickly. Eugene got out a pen and started scribbling away on this list Amaya had given him.

"It is very simple really," he began talking at speed, "'m'brovas' is just a slang word used in the place of 'friends', now, if we assume that 'fat' means good, then 'spanking' and 'sachellelephant' now become clear as to simply amplifying this word and therefore imply the meaning of excellent or of very high quality, 'box' is simply a youth term used for an audio system used to enjoy the art of music, some may call it a 'stereo', 'whilom' is a fairly new term which I have only just discovered, it means 'old', calling something 'nacky' implies that it is useless or broken, 'banana' in this case does not refer to the fruit but also to the fact that this object is no longer of any use, and 'flybanged' simply describes his state of mind being rather enraged on the subject. And that is that."

He handed the list back to Amaya, a smug expression on his face. Amaya blinked and stared at what he had written on the paper. The many, many red lines and scribbles made no sense to her whatsoever.

"Err… what?"

Eugene sighed.

"In simple terms this man is stating that he would like a new stereo system because his old one does not work anymore, something that he is annoyed about."

"Really?"

"Indeed."

"Oh."

Eugene took another sip from the dainty tea cup. Amaya looked down at the piece of paper before swiftly crossing out Zommari's and Eugene's words. In their place she wrote 'stereo'. Well, that was certainly easier to understand.

"Oooo!"Eugene's hands suddenly went flying into the air and he looked at Amaya excitedly. "I just remembered! I'm hosting a delightful party tonight for my professor friends and their partners! And now I am inviting you!"

"Huh?" Amaya reeled backwards in surprise. Eugene was nodding expectantly.

"Yes! It would be simply fabulous if there was a new face around to liven things up! I am sure also that if you wear that outfit then you will not be short of friends. It may not be completely your thing, but there will be pipe-smoking and, if the weather permits, marvolous croquet-playing!"

Amaya honestly did not know what to say.

--

A few lines appeared on Gin's forehead, despite the constant grin.

Amaya was smart. She was one of the smartest Numeros around.

Surely that qualified as smart enough to decline an invitation from a man she only just met to his so called 'party' where she would wear a maid's costume.

Didn't it?

"Er… ok, that sounds great."

Gin almost hit his head against the wall he was leaning against.

Then he thought of something and the grin returned stronger than previously.

He had a plan.

--

**The lyrics from the first shop are real. The band's Maximum the Hormone, can't remember which song I chose in the end, but all their songs completely rule. It's such a weird mix of happy pop and heavy metal.**

**I'm allowed to mock the British stereotype, since I am British, so no hate mail on that please. Actually, croquet is an awesome game. I play it in my garden. You get to hit people with mallets (well, you're not SUPPOSED to but who cares)**

**In the next chapter there will be some AmayaXGin fluff. I know I've neglected it recently. Please be patient.**

**Ok, now onto reasons for my disappearance.**

**1) As I mentioned, I had exams, and that took 6 weeks or something. I didn't really feel like writing during them coz my mind was so full of useless facts like the temperature of the sun's corona… yeah, I'm so gonna use that in life.**

**2) forgot to say last time, but my laptop was royally screwed so I had to get a new one, which I have now (IT'S PURPLE AND PRETTY!)**

**3) after exams I had 2 weeks of work experience, twas dull, and after travelling up to central London and working 9am to 6pm and then travelling back (all of which added up to 12 hours per day) I did not feel awake enough to do anything other than watch telly and sleep.**

**4) then I had a week where I was busy everyday so could hardly write anything**

**5) then I went to the French Pyrenees for two weeks and had no internet**

**6) Now I'm back, but I've got the flu… **

**And there are my reasons, to be honest you should be grateful you got anything at all. I'm not sure what I'm doing in the next few weeks, I could be equally busy, or I could be completely free, so I'm afraid youre just gonna have to wait and see. Sorry. Again.**

**If you don't review  
I'll put you in a stew.**


	14. Surprise!

**It's been a while, aint it? But not too long, huh?**

**Don't have anything else to say today, so just read!**

**Chapter 13: Surprise!**

--

Amaya was annoyed.

"I would like some tea."

"But as I've tried to tell-," she spluttered.

"No, no, tea, dear. Earl Grey. One sugar." The man insisted.

"But I'm not-,"

"Stop standing around. Look lively! Chop chop!"

Amaya gave up, grumbled to herself, and ran off to find some tea, but what did she really expect when wearing a maid's outfit? This was the third time this had happened this night. She might as well give up and resolve herself to become a waitress.

She was still grumbling when she ran directly into someone. Eugene smiled down at her over his spectacles.

"Well done, deary, I can see you're fitting right in. Spot on!" he told her, waving his glass of Port erratically around. "Keep up the good work! Spiffing, you old bean! I wonder where my croquet mallet went."

Amaya remarked to herself that he was acting even stranger than he was earlier today. She thought that this might have something to do with the many glasses of Port that had suddenly disappeared from the room.

She thought this was going to be an evening of intelligent conversation with the educated, not a room of fancy drunks.

Eugene suddenly perked up.

"Oh look! There's my croquet mallet!" he promptly swept the mallet off the floor and swung it around his head. Unfortunately for him, he was still rather intoxicated. The wood struck his head with a loud thump and he collapsed onto the floor, unconscious.

Amaya heard a suspiciously familiar voice from the background.

"_Ha ha! That non-conformist hit his own head with a croquet mallet! Ha ha! Serves the lizard right!"_

Amaya blinked and looked around, searching for the source of the voice. She must have misheard. She simply must have. She did not want to hear that voice again. After not finding the source, she stepped over Eugene's inanimate body to the table on which vast amounts of tea bags were located. She grabbed the nearest one and quickly added it and one teaspoon of sugar to a cup of hot water. She hurried back over to the man who had ordered it.

He snatched it from her hands and took a sip.

He immediately spat it into Amaya's face.

Amaya stood there, tea dripping from her face.

"What is this? This is Traditional Breakfast! I ordered Earl Grey! How dare you insult me like this? Go make me another one! And make it properly this time! Earl Grey! Earl bloody Grey!"

Amaya sighed and trooped back to the tea table.

--

It had been a good hour of fetching tea and other drinks for the many guests that had mistaken Amaya for a waitress. She was getting a bit fed up of it. She kind of hoped something would interrupt this party and liven it up. There was only a certain amount of conversation to be had about pheasant shooting and the Queen before one became terminally ill. Besides, if something didn't happen, she might be stuck pouring drinks for the rest of her afterlife.

Suddenly the lights dimmed and a large cake was rolled into the centre of the room. A crowd gathered around it.

Music started up. People began to sing along.

"_Happy birthday to youuu. Happy birthday to youuu. Happy birthday dear Professor Eugene Binklewoorth. Happy birthday to youuu."_

The song ended. Eugene was still passed out and didn't notice.

There was a sudden flash of light and a squelchy sound.

Cake flew everywhere. It settled and Amaya stepped back and gasped.

"Hiya, Maya-chan!"

"I- I- Ichimaru-sama?"

--

"I didn't know that you knew Eugene!" Amaya exclaimed. Gin frowned.

"I don't know him."

Amaya didn't quite understand.

"But you jumped out of a cake for him…"

Gin, on some level, expected something like this.

"No, I jumped out to surprise ya." He remarked before picking at his shirt. "But I didn't realise I'd get so cakey."

He lifted a sleeve and licked at the cake remainders there. He then held the other out to Amaya.

"D'ya wanna help?"

Hesitantly, she nibbled at the sleeve. Gin grinned.

"There's some cream here." He said innocently while pointing at his cheek. Amaya was quite tempted to do what Gin was thinking and lick it off. But before she got the chance, something interrupted the thoughts.

"_I think I saw a turtle by the door! Tuurrtlee!"_ Amaya quickly turned, but saw no one who the voice could have belonged to. She frowned and turned back to a cake-covered Gin. The moment was lost. Somehow, he had managed to lick the cream off his own cheek. Disappointment reigned.

Eugene stirred.

"I say! Who the devil are all these people?" he shouted about all the guests. "And what are they doing in my house?"

Amaya patted his shoulder.

"Professor, I think you should go upstairs and sleep."

Eugene pointed into the air.

"Capital idea! By why go upstairs? This is my house! I can sleep where I want! I think I saw a table over in that corner that looked comfy!" And with that Eugene turned on his heels and stumbled over to a table in the corner, on which he collapsed.

Amaya frowned.

"I think I've had enough of this party."

Gin paused licking his hand and looked at her.

"Tha' sounds like a good idea."

"_You have no pants!"_

--

Gin was a happy man, he was covered in cake and all alone with an Amaya who was willing to eat the said cake right off him.

Wasn't he lucky?

Amaya looked up at the stars in the sky. The individual lights flittered and blinked, somehow differently to how they did in Hueco Mundo. They were more subtle, lights from the surrounding buildings dimming their strength, and yet this only added to their beauty. It was so peaceful, almost romantic.

She glanced to the side at Gin. He was being awfully quiet. Amaya wondered what he was thinking about. It had to be something important. Maybe he too was wondering and the strange life this world held. Maybe he was reminiscing about some long past time when, like now, he was under the stars in the real world.

Her gaze went back to the sky.

"It's a beautiful night." She remarked, trying to be subtle. After five minutes without Gin saying anything, she tried something else. "What do you want to do?"

Gin smiled.

Amaya hoped he wasn't going to answer that with something vulgar, then again…

No he wasn't thinking anything like that, Amaya could tell at least that. Maybe he really was a philosophical and deep person after a-

"I have jam up my nose."

Amaya blinked.

Or maybe he wasn't.

"Oh, ok."

"Do you want to help get it out?" Gin asked.

"Not particularly…" Amaya said honestly, not wanting to venture into Gin's nose. Gin looked slightly disappointed. Amaya sighed and held a napkin up to his nose. "Blow." She instructed.

Gin blew out his mouth as if blowing up a balloon. Amaya gave him a stern look. Gin behaved and blew into the napkin, jam included.

Little did Amaya know that she was being watched.

The lid of the dumpster behind them opened. Two pairs of eyes peered out. Once of them was worried. The other was vengeful.

"Mummy, I don't think we should be doing this." One of the pairs whispered.

"Shut up. What do you know? I thought I brought you up not to be a lizard. Don't be a lizard."

Amaya thought she heard something from behind her. She turned and looked. The lid of the dumpster twitched. Amaya furrowed her eyebrows but nevertheless returned her gaze to Gin. He was a much nicer sight than a moving dumpster.

"Err, Ichimaru-sama, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but, umm, why are you here anyway?"

Gin looked at her.

"Are ya complainin'?"

Amaya heard the smirk in his voice.

"No." she said quietly to the ground.

"Then don't bother yarself with it."

Amaya really wanted to ask more, but didn't, knowing Gin probably wouldn't tell her anyway.

"So how's the task coming along, eh?" Gin changed the topic, pretending as if he didn't already know the answer. Amaya didn't fail to notice the speed at which the subject had been switched. It was slightly unsettling.

"Ok I guess." She answered, "It is taking longer than I originally planned. Things are just so strange here. I still can't get used to it."

"Ah, that's to be expected, aint it?"

"I suppose." Amaya paused, wondering how to phrase her next question. In the end she just blurted it out. "You wouldn't know why exactly I'm doing this task, would you?"

Gin was silent for a second before answering.

"Nope."

Amaya sighed. Like he'd tell her even if he did know.

"How 'bout a little walk, Maya-chan?"

Amaya didn't even have to think about a response.

"Ok."

--

From the safety of the dumpster, two eyes widened.

"They're moving! The non-conformists are moving!" the owner of the eyes whispered frantically. "Quick! We must follow and complete our mission! Move it!"

Another pair of eyes fell. The owner sighed heavily.

"Do we really have to?"

"Yes!"

--

"This is good cake." Gin mentioned as he continued to pick cake off of his shirt and eat it, as he had been doing for the past five minutes.

"Really?" Amaya muttered not completely sure of a proper response.

"Yep." Gin confirmed. He then scooped a nice piece from his collar and held it out on his finger towards Amaya. Amaya hesitated. She didn't really know if she should take it. He was still her superior after all. It may seem rather inappropriate. But he was right, from the little she had tried earlier, it was good cake. The fact that it only happened to be smothered on Gin's hand only made it more appealing.

She put her worries to one side and licked the cake from his finger.

She smiled as it hit her taste buds.

"Mmm! Delicious!" she agreed. Gin chuckled.

"Told ya."

Amaya couldn't help herself and took another lick from his hand.

Gin suddenly pulled her face upwards. Amaya felt his lips on hers but before she had time to react they were gone.

"Ya had some cream on yar mouth." He told her smirking. Amaya just blinked.

Being around him was messing with her head.

A car rushed past. The wind from it blew hair around Amaya's face. It took her a moment to realise that Gin had started walking again. She ran a few steps to catch up.

"What happened ta the clothes I gave ya?" Gin once again swiftly changed the subject.

"Oh, I think Papa Nightshade still has them."

"Who?" he asked, feigning ignorance.

"The man who owned the store where I got the hair dye for Aporro Grantz-san. He seemed quite attached to the idea of changing my attire." She muttered.

"And I bet ya just let him, eh? Ya probably didn't even get ta finish a sentence."

"How did you know?" Amaya asked surprised. Gin chuckled again.

"It's just like ya. Ya hardly ever finish yar sentence."

Amaya felt slightly insulted, however accurate Gin's words might have been.

"That's not true! I mean, sure, sometimes I get-"

Amaya was cut off by Gin's lips on hers again. She blinked and tried to stop feeling so dizzy.

"I… err…" she murmured sluggishly.

"Told ya."

Amaya's eyes narrowed.

"Dammit." She said quietly, embarrassed at Gin being able to prove his point so very easily. "That wasn't fair."

The blush across Amaya's cheeks only made Gin even more pleased with himself.

--

"The non-conformists are breeding! We must stop them!"

"Mummy, they're just kissing."

"No! That is how they breed! They kiss and lots of little non-conformists appear! It is the end of all mankind I tell you! The end!"

"I thought you said they breed with turtles?"

"No! I said they sleep with turtles! They breed by kissing! Oh, the shame of it all!"

"Mummy, I want to go home."

"No! We must save the world! We must stop the lizards!"

Miruji sighed.

Nothing could stop his mother once something was in her head.

He would just have to stay and make sure she didn't actually kill anyone.

--

Amaya paused in her step and listened.

"Did you hear something?"

"Maybe."

Amaya frowned. Gin was being as helpful as ever.

"What exactly did you hear?"

"Not much."

There was something in his voice that warned Amaya that he wasn't telling her something very important. She needed to press further.

"What was this 'not much'?"

Gin suddenly turned to her and stepped closer.

"Yar pretty, ya know?" This was not the most reassuring thing he could have said. Sure, when he did say it, she felt an overflowing happiness and might have slightly wanted to jump on him and lick the rest of the cake off, but more importantly than even that urge, she knew he was trying to distract her. Distract her from what, was the question she really wanted to know.

"You're not very helpful, you know that?"

Gin turned and started walking again.

"Yep."

Amaya mumbled under her breath at the injustice of it all. She was right in the middle of planning a new strategy to get the information out of him when something very decisive interrupted her thoughts.

"Get some pants, you non-conformist!"

Amaya squealed as Mariko charged into her, screaming a war cry as she did. For any normal Arrancar, this would not have been a problem, but this was not any normal Arrancar.

Amaya wheeled backwards with the force of Mariko's shove and flew straight into the centre of the busy night road.

"Mummy!"

Amaya heard Miruji complain as he too jumped out of a nearby cardboard box. He started to run after Amaya and attempt to pull her from the path of the road.

Gin put an arm out and Miruji rebounded off of it back onto the pavement.

Amaya noticed that apart from that he had not moved at all.

Mariko was laughing manically.

Miruji was crying.

Gin was grinning.

The bright white of the headlights blocked out all other visions as the squealing of tires were heard against the road.

Amaya didn't have enough time to get out of the way.

She blacked out before the bus hit her.

--

Gin looked over the scene as the crash of metal into bone sounded down the street.

He pondered whether he should do something.

Before he had even made up his mind a small beeping came from his watch.

Gin checked it and chuckled.

He turned and calmly flashed away from the scene of the accident.

He had somewhere else to be.

Tousen Teasing Time could never wait.

--

**Hehe! Tousen Teasing Time! In my opinion all time should be Tousen Teasing Time, he just deserves it.**

**Rhea helped me write the first half, as I have lost all my skill. I cant do it anymore! Wahh! My life is over! Sniff.**

**I got my GCSE results on Thursday. Woot! I got all A+ and As… apart from German… which I got a B in! B! Now, seeing as I was predicted a D and did no revision I think its pretty darn good! I'm really happy!**

**Last night I went out with my parents for a meal to celebrate. We went to this tiny Japanese place and the food was so good I could have died. But I ate far too much…**

**Aww summers almost over… just another 2 weeks before I go back to school. Me is sad bout that. And I have yet to read A Woman of No Importance for my Eng Lit course. I should really do that.**

**Oh, and Olympics are over… not that I really watched them. London 2012 is going to be so shit. We are going to fail. Our opening ceremony will just be some chavs in hoodies knifing the audience. That reflects our culture.**

**Bye bye for now  
I'll take my bow  
As this chapter is ancient times  
Reviews would be nice  
Please add some spice  
To my life of worthless dimes**


	15. She Blinded Me With Science

**Yeahhhhh…. Long time I know… I did put a notice up on my homepage though explaining how sixth form at my school is reheally full. If I wanna hav a social life and finish (most of) my homework and still hav enough energy to live, then writing is not really an option. I will try seriously hard to get faster so plz plz plz don't hate me!! **

**Do u remember when I used to get one chap up a day? Oh… those were simpler times… sigh…**

**LOTS has been happening in my life since we last spoke (or since I last typed and you last read, not really much of a conversation, eh?) and I wont bore you with every little detail. There are a few things though that I will mention;**

**-Ahem-**

**1) my birthday! Yay! I'm seventeen! Woah that's old…  
2) I'm going to Uganda in the summer! Volunteer work and blah with Rhea and some of her friends. UCAS points! Gogogo!  
3) I went to London Expo, like a big anime convention. Twas cool.**

**I may or may not go into these further at the end, yarl jus hav ta wait an see, wont ya?**

**Chapter 14: She blinded me with science**

---

"I'm afraid there's nothing more we can do for her." The doctor announced gravely, "She's gone."

He placed the defibrillator back onto its station before looking down and closing his eyes in respect for the lost life.

"Time of death; eleven forty-five pm." One of the nurses around the stretcher said. The emergency room at the hospital was still for a moment as a nurse reached up and raised the white sheet over the head of the victim. A hand fell off the stretcher and hung limply by its side, with it a single strand of deep crimson hair.

"I just don't get it," the doctor murmured, "there's no sign of internal bleeding or even damage, she shouldn't be dead."

A female nurse looked at the cadaver, "Who was she anyway?"

"I've no idea." The doctor replied.

A head popped out from behind the sheets of one of the two other cubicles that were in use that night.

"I'll tell you who she was! She was a non-conformist! And a lizard! She was Hitler's great granddaughter!"

"Ms Fujou, would you kindly sit down? I haven't finished stitching your forehead!" a rather angry female voice came from inside the cubicle.

"Haha! The nonconformist is no more! Hahaha!"

Mariko's doctor sighed heavily. This woman was seriously lucky that the shard of metal from the bus had only cut her forehead. The doctor on the other hand was not.

"That girl," the doctor grumbled quietly after getting Mariko to sit down again, "running into that bus like that, what was she thinking?"

Mariko laughed nervously, "I have no idea."

The sheet divider of the cubicle was suddenly whipped back and there stood another frazzled looking medic.

"Wait! Did you say nonconformist?"

"Yes! She was the greatest nonconformist of them all!" Mariko yelled as she ignored the highly annoyed woman trying to treat her and stood determined, raising a fist into the air. The other physician turned back to the corpse on the table with a set look in his eyes.

"Burn the body!"

"But-"

"Do it! Burn it now!" The doctor ordered, "We can't have the nonconformity spreading to other patients!"

Mariko smiled.

"Yes, burn it all."

---

Amaya ran through the walls of the emergency room, out of breath. After waking up at the side of the road alone it had taken her less than a second to notice that something was different. It had taken her seriously longer to realise what that difference was. She had hurried to the hospital as fast as she could in an attempt to rescue what she had lost, but arriving at this moment in time it appeared as if she was too late.

"What? Burn it? You can't do that!" she screamed. The mortician busily started moving the cadaver.

Amaya started after him.

"But that's my gigai!"

---

"Whatsa matter, Maya-chan?"

Amaya's head popped up from where she was sitting on a bench outside the hospital and swiftly turned towards the new voice. Gin stood beside her without even a trace of concern on his face.

"They're burning my gigai!" She explained frankly. Gin sat next to her.

"Really? Why don't'cha try to get it back?"

"I did! But they couldn't hear me no matter how loud I shouted! They didn't even know I was there! And I couldn't even get into it since they were moving it about so much!"

"Sounds like a pickle ta me."

Amaya forced down the screams of anger that were threatening to break forth from her lips. Gin sure was the ruler of the understatements. Amaya could see Aizen's reaction now; 'why didn't you complete the task for me?', 'oh sorry, I would have but some crazy lady pushed me in front of a bus and the doctors burned my gigai'. Somehow she didn't think that would go down too well.

She turned her face towards Gin and did something that she never thought she would do of someone in his position.

"Please help."

Gin stood.

"Okay, Maya-chan."

---

Amaya swallowed as she and Gin rounded the corner of the hospital corridor. The plan Gin had come up with sounded rather unreliable to her. It could so easily go completely wrong. What if they locked her up in one of those weird medical research centres? Being an experiment was not something Amaya wanted, especially when she knew Szayel.

"Look, Maya-chan, itsa incinerator." Gin pointed out when they reached their destination. Amaya simply nodded. "And there's yar gigai. Don't look ta me like they've burnt it yet."

Amaya stared at her gigai. Gin was right. Had she simply been overreacting this entire time?

Amaya jumped as she heard footsteps from behind and leapt around to see what she assumed must have been the person in charge of the incinerating. The man stopped when he reached the table and tutted at Amaya's inanimate body.

"Err, Maya-chan," Gin whispered to her even though the man obviously couldn't see them, "now migh' be a good time."

The man was already hoisting the gigai onto his shoulders ready to chuck it into the fire. Amaya had to act fast.

Gin pressed the button on the tape player.

"Stop!" Amaya immediately recognised the deep voice echoing from the player. The little man, however, had no past experience in Las Noches, and therefore was taken completely off guard. At the next sentence, he almost wet himself in fear. "I am your God!"

Amaya rolled her eyes. Aizen could be so melodramatic sometimes.

The man fell onto his knees, dropping the body as he did so.

"What is it? What do you want with me?" he cried at the ceiling.

"Your work has not amused me and was that not the purpose of this?" the tape recorder continued.

"I don't know, I mean, it wasn't very clear wheth-"

"That is quite enough. It is time to move on."

"What? Me? But it's too early! I don't wanna die! I've got so mu-"

"I do not care if you were trying to catch a traitor, do so quietly."

Amaya crept forwards towards her gigai which lay abandoned on the floor.

"Huh?"

"Now fetch me some tea; that is your job."

"Tea?"

"And remember, only the best will do for your God."

The man scrambled to his feet, confused and scared.

"Yes! Of course!" and with that he ran from the room, hereby quitting his job at the hospital. He would spend the rest of his existence travelling and searching the globe for the best tea there was. Tea fit enough for a God.

Amaya lifted her gigai from the ground.

"Was all of that strictly necessary?" she asked. Gin nodded. "When did you record that anyway?"

"A coupla months ago, knew it would come in handy one of these days."

Amaya sighed and turned back to the important business of returning to her gigai. It was then that she noticed something and gasped.

"What have they done to my eyes?" she shouted. Gin looked.

"Experiments?" he replied plainly. Amaya furrowed her eyebrows. What kind of experiments would lead to scratching large gashes in a corpse's eyeballs? Well, maybe Szayel would do something like that, but she thought they were better here on Earth.

"How am I meant to wear this now?"

"Ya can always quit the task if ya wan'."

Amaya glared at him. He knew that wasn't an option if she wanted to stay in one piece, literally.

"Or," Gin continued, "Ya could let me guide ya."

"Guide… me?"

"Well, the gigai's blind, aint it? Don't that mean ya need someone ta guide ya?"

Amaya stared at him, completely bewildered.

---

Amaya had decided something.

Body bags were not comfortable.

After getting into the broken gigai she was not surprised when she found Gin to be right in that the thing had been blinded and under Gin's wonderful guidance had been placed on top of a stretcher inside a black plastic bag. She was pretty certain that if a doctor saw this supposedly dead girl walking casually down a corridor it would not have been a pleasant reunion.

She heard Gin whistle to himself as he pushed the stretcher along the corridor. She did not want to think about where he had gotten the white coat he had miraculously come up with from. She honestly hoped no one had died for it, but didn't put it past someone like Gin.

She also hoped it wasn't unusual for a doctor to be pushing around dead bodies in a hospital.

"Think of the turtles!"

Amaya jumped.

"Stop!" she whispered to Gin. He did so and she felt the movement cease from the trolley. "Is that Mariko?"

"Yep."

"What's going on?" she spoke softly.

"But she was a nonconformist, I tell you! A nonconformist!"

"She's being taken away in a straight jacket." Gin answered.

"Miruji! How could you? I'm your mother! Your own mother!"

"Sorry mummy, but Amaya was my friend and you pushed her." Amaya felt a pang of guilt. She had all but forgotten about Miruji and how he must think that she was dead. Well, technically she was, but he didn't know about Hueco Mundo.

"That one's a lizard! A lizard!"

"Bye bye, Mariko-chan!" Gin called.

"Tuurrtlleee!"

Amaya heard a door slamming and after that nothing more about nonconformists. She guessed Mariko had left.

"Alright, little one," Amaya didn't know this voice and thought it must have been someone who worked there, "I guess we'll have to find you a new home or something. Don't worry; it'll be better than living with that woman."

The doors flew open.

"Not so fast!"

Amaya's mouthed fell open.

"Professor Binkleworth?" she breathed out. Gin shushed her and she fell silent again, listening to the dramatic conversation occurring around her.

"There is no need to find that boy a home! For I," Eugene cried radically, "am his father!"

If it hadn't been for Gin's hand on her shoulder Amaya would have jolted upright in surprise.

"What?" Miruji gasped out.

"Yes and a very good one I would have been too if it hadn't been for that mother of yours! Here's all the necessary paperwork. I think you'll find it satisfying enough to say the least."

"Daddy?"

"Yes, son?"

"Daddy!" Amaya heard rustling as Miruji flung himself into his father's arms and started weeping with joy.

"Come, my boy, and I will tell you the story of your stupendous beginnings in the British countryside! I was an English gentleman and she was nothing more than a chambermaid in my estate! Oh, the romance of it all! One day, after coming home from a splendid hunt I found…" Eugene voice trailed off through the hospital doors.

Amaya lay there in shock for a moment before realising what had happened.

"What the hell?" she almost shouted as she sat up. Gin covered her mouth and shoved her back down again.

"Did I just hear a woman's voice out here?" someone said nearby.

Amaya imagined Gin shrugging.

"What d'ya mean?"

There were more footsteps as whoever it was retreated again.

"Now, now, Maya-chan, it's naughty ta talk when yar dead, ya know?"

"Sorry." She said, returning to a hushed voice. The stretcher started moving again.

"Aww, don'tcha worry bout it, Maya-chan."

---

"Hey, ya look like Nnoitra." Gin said after placing the eye patch over Amaya's head, so as not to scare any passersby with her now resemblance to a zombie. They had successfully managed to escape from the hospital and, judging from the bird calls and grassy smell, Amaya guessed they were in a park somewhere.

"Jeez, thanks," Amaya replied, "I've always wanted to look like him."

Gin pulled an eye patch onto her other eye.

"Now ya look like double Nnoitra."

Amaya hoped that, despite the pirate look she now held, she was glaring directly at him.

"Where are we?" she asked. "You were flash-stepping us for a while."

"Nowhere important."

Amaya sniffed.

"What's that smell? It's kind of familiar."

"Nothing important." Gin said. He could seriously get on her nerves sometimes, but more important than that, she felt like he was up to something. That was never a good sign with Gin. "Come on, Maya-chan!"

He quickly grabbed her hand and started leading her away. Amaya could tell they were definitely on grass, but there was some sort of strange sound coming from where he was leading her to, reminiscent of water, and then there was that smell. That salty, vaguely familiar smell. She knew it from somewhere for sure.

Amaya stopped.

"The ocean?"

"Aww, ya ruined yar surprise."

"Wh- wh-," Amaya stuttered, "Why did you bring me here?"

She felt Gin let go of her hand as he moved around her. Soon his hands were on her shoulders pushing her forward.

"I'd thought ya like it." Gin dismissed. Amaya admitted that she would have liked it if she could see, but since at the present time she could not and had no idea what Gin was up to. She could not be entirely grateful.

"Where are you pushing me?" Amaya asked now getting extremely worried.

"Nowhere im-"

"I swear if you say that one more time I will take your spleen and throw it _nowhere important_!"

Gin was silent.

Amaya gasped.

"Oh my god! Did I just say that? I'm so sorry! Please forgive me! I didn't mean it! I'm just a bit tetchy at the moment, you know, with the whole blind thing. I really-"

"Nah, it's alright, Maya-chan," Gin said happily while continuing to push her forwards, "ta be honest I've been waiting far ya ta crack, knew it wouldn't be too long."

Amaya face fell. This whole time, was he _testing_ her?

"'ere we are." Gin announced.

"Here we are where?" Amaya asked as she hopelessly turned her head about as if that would let her see. "Ichimaru-sama, I, err-"

Amaya was cut off as Gin's hands suddenly shoved her forwards. She felt the ground beneath her disappear and quite desperately she started screaming as she plummeted off what she now realised had been a cliff the whole time.

Wait, did this mean Gin was killing her? Surely not.

Unless, maybe he really did hate her for snapping at him like that.

Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God.

She was going to die. She was going to die.

Amaya pressed her hands against her face in a subconscious reaction and prepared herself for smashing into waves and rocks below.

She was therefore surprised when instead she felt two arms wrap around her and stop her from falling any further.

"Saved yar life."

Amaya said nothing as she let it all absorb.

Then it hit her.

And she hit him.

"You stupid, arrogant, incomprehensible, excuse for a man!" she shouted as her hands pounded repeatedly on Gin's chest. "You idiot! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! You could have killed me! I hate you!"

Amaya hardly noticed as the grass on top of the cliff struck her feet once more. Her yells of fury turned into quiet ramblings, and these in turn turned into gentle sobbing as she buried her head into his chest.

"It aint tha' bad, is it?" Gin asked quietly as he stroked her hair. Amaya shook her head but the tears still wouldn't stop. "Whatsamatter?"

"I thought…" Amaya sniffed, "I thought you wanted me dead. That you truly hated me."

Gin used his thumb to turn Amaya's face towards him.

"Aww, why'd I do tha'?" he asked happily, "Besides, I thought ya were the one who hated me, ne?"

Amaya laughed quietly as she rested her head once more against him.

"You truly are an idiot."

---

**Yeah, bad ending, weren't it? **

**That is the last you'll see of Mariko, Miruji and Eugene. Isn't their story a heart wrenching soap opera? I think it is.**

**Theyre gonna go back Hueco mundo in the next one, it took way longer to write all this than expected, soz if you guys were getting bored.**

**Thomas Dolby rules, bitches! I can smell the chemicals! Blinding me with science science science!**

**Anyway yeah, I was looking the other day at my reader traffic I was like woah! You guys come from all over the shot don't cha? There's actually more ppl in Singapore who read this story than in the UK and Australia combined. Shout out for all you Singaporeans! My friend April is from Singapore… shes kinda… odd… then again maybe its just one person using loads of different computers. Oh yea and there was someone from the Maldives, which is like really cool. I dunno if you were on holiday or live there. Let me know! Ive been there on holiday. It is SO nice, but really artificial. **

**At the Expo there were so many cosplayers, including an awesome Mayuri. I took pics with lots of them, most were really nice but one Urahara was just like 'errr… sure…. Err…' even when I tried to make conversation with him. Tsk. I swear half the room was filled with Urahara hats. That and vampire knight cosplayers.**

**Rhea recently subjected me to the horror which is the eng dub of Ouran. I seriously wanted to cry after seeing it. Funimation have taken one of the best series ever and completely butchered it! At least their Honey wasn't quite as bad as English Momiji… but nothing can make up for making kyouya gay! They are evil I tell thee. Evil. **

**.**

**Review or I'll unleash more 1980s song titles!**


	16. Seventh Wheel

**Hope you guys had a merry Christmas/hannukah/kwanza/anything else you celebrate! And a good new years to all! Doesn't 2009 feel totally different to 2008? Oh yea, completely…**

**You may be happy to know that I recently quit school, giving me time to write. They were being bitches coz I was ill so much last term and were about to kick me out anyway. I'm gonna have a break and then restart my AS levels next September somewhere else. In the meantime I'll get a job or somin. Fun times.**

**This one has some good bits, but is mainly bad, oh well.**

**Chapter 15: Seventh wheel**

---

Amaya pulled the covers closer to her body in a search for warmth as she curled up further into the soft bed.

It took a moment to realise that this was in fact an extremely difficult thing to attempt. Groggily, she lifted her heavy eyelids in order to find the reason for this difficulty. The plain white sheets lay crumpled before her while her head rested on the plump downy pillow.

This didn't explain why it was such a trial for her to move. What did, however, were the weight against her hips and the touch against her back.

Her eyes immediately leapt wide open and her mind clicked into place.

She lay completely still as the blood slowly left her body.

No way.

No freaking way.

The touch against her back stirred.

Amaya wasn't blinking.

There was rustling as something moved. Amaya felt the warm breath against her ear.

"Mornin', Maya-chan."

Amaya didn't blink.

Despite her brain's lack of composure she somehow was still able to very nervously stutter a response.

"M- m- morning, Ich- Ichimaru-sama."

Gin let out a soft laugh as his mouth traced a section of her throat underneath her ear.

"Ya can call me Gin, ya know." He whispered against her neck.

Amaya didn't blink.

"M- m- morning, G- Gin-sama."

Gin laughed again, "and ya can drop the '-sama'."

Amaya didn't blink.

"M- m- morning, G- Gin."

Amaya still wasn't blinking.

"Aint tha' better?"

Amaya slowly nodded.

"Maya-chan?"

A bit of the fog cleared from Amaya's mind and her head snapped round to face Gin.

"Yeah?" she said quickly.

"Ya aint blinkin'."

"I know."

Gin just grinned and began to get off of the bed. Amaya's face immediately swept around to face the other way and a blush rose to her cheeks as the blood returned to her body.

She let out a small scream as a face popped into her field of vision.

"Yar so cute, Maya-chan," Gin teased. Amaya finally shut her eyes for a millisecond. "I got ya a gift while ya were sleepin'."

"Err… thank you?" she said uncertainly while subconsciously pulling the sheets further up towards her neck. Gin turned and started towards the cupboard of the room. She admitted to herself that she was quite happy to see that Gin had managed to find his hakama so quickly.

"Yar welcome," he replied before throwing the wardrobe door open. "Ta da!"

Amaya raised an eyebrow at seeing what was slumped inside.

"My… gigai…?" Amaya did not want to be the one to tell Gin that when considering a gift, you should not get someone something that already belonged to them.

"Yep."

Amaya stared at the unconscious version of herself and found that her eyes were narrowing in puzzlement. Now she looked at the thing it did seem a bit different than it did last night. But how so she could not see. Was it the hair or the-

"You fixed my eyes?" Amaya shouted, sitting up. Gin was silent for a minute. Amaya's eyes slowly rolled downwards. She immediately pulled the sheet back up. She decided distraction was the answer here. "If you could fix them just like that, why didn't you before now?"

Gin chuckled.

"Coz if I had, last night wouldn'ta happened, ne?"

Amaya was still.

After a moment her face turned bright red.

She swiftly turned around, curled up and pulled the covers over her head.

"Idiot."

---

"So ya just need a toothbrush for Noi-kun an' a stereo for Zommi-kun, right Maya-chan?"

Amaya glanced up from the list in her hands.

"Yep." She answered before adding quickly, "well, there's also the darkness, personal space, free time, and trash, but three of those things I have no idea how to achieve, and trash shouldn't be difficult to get in Las Noches with the amount of snacks Yammy eats."

"Seems ta me ya'll have ta talk ta Sou-kun for some of tha'."

Amaya gulped. Talking to Aizen wasn't something she really wanted to do at all, the mere mention of his name gave her the heebie-jeebies, but Gin did appear to be right this time; she would have to approach his highness yet again. If only to ask whether there was any possible way of granting Grimmjow and Stark's wishes. He would probably dismiss them, but if she didn't even ask then he would probably dismiss _her_.

She sighed.

"I guess."

Gin suddenly stopped and looked in at the shop window they were about to walk past. Amaya stopped a few paces in front of him. He seemed deeply engaged with whatever it was he was staring at inside the store. Amaya stepped towards him and turned to stare too.

Inside was one of the most curious objects Amaya had ever seen.

Among the many neatly arranged unusual artefacts on display, most of which she thought looked worthless, was a little plastic cartoon fox. Its head was bobbing about on its shoulders in some form of rhythm.

She turned back to Gin.

His head was also bobbing.

Amaya almost laughed.

Gin stopped bobbing and turned to her.

"Wha'?" he asked sounding intrigued to know what she was finding so funny. Amaya shook her head trying desperately to contain the laughter stored inside her. Gin looked back at the plastic fox and his head once again began bouncing around on his shoulders in sync with the toy. He looked seriously at it. "I want tha'."

"Er, ok, then let's just go in and buy it, I have some money left over and I'm sure the stereo and toothbrush won't be too expensi-," Gin was ignoring her as he walked up to the store door and pushed it open a crack.

"Nah, I got a better plan." He said before shutting the door again and starting to tug his gigai off. He passed the limp body to Amaya who by this time was stunned and confused. "Hold this, will ya?"

He headed towards the door again, this time fully opening it.

"Ichimaru-sa-, I mean Gin-sam-, I mean Gin!" Amaya cried after him, but it was too late; by the time she had managed to say his name in a way he would respond to, the door was already shut and Gin was quite happily walking up towards the window display that contained the small fox. He reached down, picked it up and simply began strolling to the door again.

The shop attendant at first thought it quite strange that the door had opened all of its own accord, but had dismissed it as something to do with the wind. However, something like that could not be blamed for the plastic bobble-head fox that was now floating in mid-air, flying towards the shop's exit. The girl blinked, before promptly passing out.

Amaya shook her head in disappointment as Gin stood in front of her, the toy triumphantly in his outstretched hand.

"They call that stealing, you know?" she asked already knowing he wouldn't listen to her, while watching him pull his gigai back on. Just as predicted, Gin ignored her and started up the street again, every now and then flicking the head of the fox in his hand and nodding along in time.

Amaya grumbled before running to catch up.

---

"Mmm! This is delicious!" Amaya squealed after taking a sip of the bubble tea Gin had so kindly _bought_ her. At least he hadn't stolen that.

The plastic bag containing the brand new, and very expensive, stereo system and, thankfully much cheaper, toothbrush lay beside her feet on the ground as she sat opposite Gin at a café placed strategically next a large clear pond with a beautiful fountain in the centre. Not like the filth she had first landed in when arriving in the real world. Amaya stilled cringed at the memory of the gunk.

"Told ya."

Amaya's brows furrowed.

"Are you going to tell me what you were doing when I was in the electronics store?" she asked curiously. Gin's grin widened further than she thought was possible and he whipped out a small box wrapped in gold paper from his jeans pocket. Amaya stared at it. "What?"

"It's for ya." Gin nodded, indicating that she should open it. Tentatively, she picked the box off of the garden table and undid the paper wrapping. She stared at it confused.

"Matches?"

"Nope."

"Then wha-"

"Open it." He instructed. Amaya slowly did and peered inside the little match box. At first she saw nothing but darkness, but then her eyes caught sight of the small black thing cowering in the corner of the box. She immediately dropped the cardboard and jumped on top of her chair, screaming bloody murder. The hairy spider scuttled away, obviously scared that someone else would deem it necessary to put him inside a different prison.

Amaya stopped screaming and stared accusingly at the man opposite her, who to her annoyance she found was still sitting as calmly as ever.

"Why?" she shouted at him from atop the chair. People were staring, but frankly she didn't care.

Gin just shrugged in response.

Amaya got even angrier.

She stomped her foot, which was a big mistake. The dainty white garden chair had apparently not been designed for someone stomping their feet while standing on it, something Amaya thought was particularly frustrating as she toppled over, fell right across the table, and landed straight in Gin's arms.

Gin patted her head.

"Thatsa good girl." He said as if she was some form of pet.

Amaya jumped up and glared at him before shouting, "You idiot!"

Someone coughed behind her.

"Hope we're not interrupting?"

Amaya leapt into the air as she spun around; something that she regretted as it only served in making her trip and land back on Gin's lap. She noted that he did not seem to mind this and silently cursed him.

"What have you been doing to her, Ichimaru-sama?" Szayel asked in response to all the shouting that had previously been taking place. A smile crept onto his face. "I mean, beside the obvious."

Amaya blushed furiously and immediately stood upright once more.

"What are _you_ doing here?" she pointed a finger and yelled at the small group that was standing beside the table.

Grimmjow grunted and shrugged a reply, burying his hands further into his pockets.

Yammy was busy counting all the ducks floating on the pond, Ulquiorra helping him when he forgot what number came next.

Nnoitra seemed very interested, maybe too much so, in a small dog that was tied to a railing outside a nearby shop. The dog started to cower and squeal.

Szayel was the only one who bothered to give a proper answer to her question.

"Well, we were all so intrigued by Ulquiorra's lesson on the real world that we decided to check it out for ourselves. Aizen-sama granted us this wish on two conditions; one, we would find you and tell you to return to Las Noches, and two, we would take Grimmjow with us."

Amaya looked at a very grumpy Grimmjow. Again he shrugged and started to kick loose rocks on the ground.

"Oh." Amaya said, "how did you manage to find us?"

Szayel pointed at the ribbon-necklace still wrapped around her neck, the one Gin had given her before she left, "You are wearing one of my state-of-the-art tracking devices."

Amaya's head flipped around and her eyes narrowed at the smiling shinigami now sucking on the straw of her bubble tea.

"Oh _really_?"

"Yay! I counted them all! There are fifty-two ducks!" Yammy suddenly cried, causing yet more people to turn their heads. Amaya was pretty sure that now every single person within a hundred yard radius was watching them.

"Well done." Ulquiorra simply congratulated him on his momentous achievement.

"How d'ya make a duck sing?" everyone rotated and looked oddly at Gin, "Put it in the oven 'til it's Bill Withers."

The corner of Szayel's mouth upturned, "that is a very clever joke, Ichimaru-sama."

"Why would having its bill melt make a duck sing?" Nnoitra asked obviously not understanding the format of the joke.

"Are ducks tasty, Ulquiorra? It would have to be if you wanna put it in the oven, wouldn't it? Ulquiorra!" Yammy joined in.

Ulquiorra simply narrowed his eyes, "Who is this Bill Withers?"

Amaya raised a hand to her forehead. She felt a severe migraine was starting to form there.

---

"Ooo! What's that?" Yammy shouted excitedly as he tugged at the sleeve of Ulquiorra's jumper and pointed at a strange box with brightly flashing lights inside a building they were standing next to.

"I do not know."

"I wanna see! I wanna see!" Yammy ran into the building, followed by the rest of the group. He stopped as gazed in awe at the large, highly decorated box with the small screen and flashing step before it. Amaya also stared. Some teenage human boy appeared to be looking intently at the screen as he pursued the moving colours on the step with his feet. She read the words 'Dance Dance Revolution' written atop the box. She thought it was very odd indeed.

"Ah, I see, it is a simple test of foot-eye coordination. One sees the arrows on the monitor and attempts to recreate the moves with one's feet. How peculiar." Szayel explained.

"I wanna go! I wanna go!" Yammy stepped up to the console and knocked the boy who was currently using it away with one swipe. The boy took one glance at who had shoved him before immediately deciding it would be for the best for him to run away. "Ulquiorra play too!"

Ulquiorra sighed and tottered to the identical box next to the one Yammy was currently stamping on.

Amaya noticed that the box did not appear to like being stamped on by someone of Yammy's size and strength. It was sparking and every now and then the monitor blacked out. Ulquiorra on the other hand, took a glance at the actions instructed and consequently moved lithely and managed to follow each arrow precisely. A large 'PERFECT' was displayed at the end of the song. Yammy cried in annoyance at his 'FAIL'.

"Again!" he yelled before beginning another song.

Amaya glanced around, not wanting to be there when Yammy was blamed for breaking store property, and noticed that she was the only one of the group still watching the interesting attempt at DDR. She shoved her way through the crowd that was starting to build, watching Ulquiorra's perfect footwork, and made her way outside again. Gin was standing outside expectantly.

"Where are the others?" Amaya asked not completely sure she wanted to know the answer. He nodded towards a nearby restaurant. Amaya groaned as she heard what Nnoitra was screeching.

"What do you mean you want the bill? What do I look like to you? You should have more respect for your elders!"

She guessed that to them he looked like many of the other costume dressed waiters at the special, pirate-themed restaurant. Amaya turned away, diverting her eyes from the imminent bloodbath, and settled her gaze on Gin once more.

"And Szayel?"

He nodded in the opposite direction to Nnoitra.

A greater groan left Amaya's mouth as she saw what could only be described as a photo shoot. The public apparently thought Szayel resembled someone of impressive fame for there was a large group of them with cameras out, snapping away at the temporarily blonde man. And Szayel being Szayel, he looked like he was lapping it up. Amaya turned away as he struck a particularly dynamic pose.

"Do I even _want_ to know where Grimmjow is?"

Gin once again nodded, this time to the large pond across the street.

There crouched a very alert looking Grimmjow. At first Amaya thought she may have found the one Espada that would act normally in the human world, but was quickly forced to reconsider. In one quick movement, Grimmjow leapt from the bank of the pond into its waters. He returned less than five seconds later with a fish in his jaws. A smug grin was on his face as he used his back leg to scratch behind his ear.

Amaya let out the biggest groan yet.

"Oh my God, can't any of these things at least pretend to be normal?" she complained to herself.

Gin let out a small chuckle.

"Ya wanna go home, Maya-chan?"

She looked up gratefully.

"Yes please."

---

Tousen reached down and started to pull his socks onto his rather cold feet as he sat on a chair in his room. Something that annoyed him about Las Noches was that all the plain flooring did tend to mean chilly toes.

Tousen stopped abruptly.

He peeled the sock back off.

He tentatively touched his foot. He brought his finger to his lips and sniffed at what was now coating his hand and foot.

Cheese sauce.

This could only mean one thing.

One dreadful, terrifying thing.

Gin was back.

---

**For anyone who didn't get the title of this chapter, it's a pun on third wheel, coz theres five of them that show up to ruin gin and amayas moment. God, I hope you got that. Personally, I thought it was extremely witty.**

**Bill Withers is an old soul/folk singer for those of you who didn't know. He's pretty cool. That joke wasn't mine by the way. I don't know who first came up with it, but it is darn funny, don't you think?**

**Kubo Tite stole my idea! Ok it wasn't a very good one but still… I guess it isn't that noticeable. I shall have to think …**

**Also I drew quick pic of Gin and the bobble fox coz I couldn't resist. its not as cute as I'd like it to be but oh well. its on my devart.  
**

**Umm… I was gonna say somin else… I forgot….**

**It's like magic  
A simple review  
Stops the tragic  
From controlling you**

**My poems are gradually getting worse, aren't they?**


	17. Food for Thought

**Tremendous wait despite what I said last chap. Soz. I could make up loads of excuses. But theyre not true. I've just had a bit of writers block and been lazy.**

**Chapter 16: Food for thought**

---

"Promoted?" Amaya shouted in surprise. "Why?"

Andres Navarro looked at the clipboard in his hands and flipped a few pages indifferently. "Yep, orders from above. Who knows why? They never tell me anything anyway."

"But- but-," Amaya stammered. She knew Navarro wouldn't actually have any answers. Despite his title as 'manager' of the lesser Numeros, he still wasn't included in Las Noches' circles of knowledge. Just a figure to take charge of the minor roles that had to be done, really. A sort of path between the commoners and the nobility, if you will. "But-,"

"Look, honey, what they want aint none of my business, I just know they want it, and that's all that matters." _They_ meant Aizen and his little gang. "So, be a dear and just report to where you're supposed to go, hey?"

Navarro had never really taken a liking to Amaya. She guessed it had something to do with the increase of breakages that had happened since she had arrived. Amaya held back the profanities.

"And where am I supposed to report to?" she sighed. Navarro checked his clipboard again

"East wing, floor six, corridor two."

Amaya huffed and started walking away. "Nice working with you," she grumbled on her way out.

"Uh, yeah, ditto."

---

"No way!"

"Grimmjow, as I have told you numerous times previously, this is not your decision to make."

"Like hell it isn't! How come with everyone else they get to choose, but with me it's-"

Aizen's death glare deepened and Grimmjow faltered. Never removing his gaze from the Espada, he silently took a sip of his tea. Amaya fiddled with the hem of her skirt nervously. Being her typical self, she hadn't realised what 'east wing, floor six, corridor two' was until she had actually arrived. She had not been happy when a guard had recognised her, opened the gigantic white doors, and then shoved her inside. Into the dark of Aizen's throne room.

"It appears," Aizen finally answered Grimmjow's unfinished sentence, "that the other Espada are perfectly capable of managing themselves and obeying my orders without any help. For you, on the other hand, it does not."

"That's not true, that's-"

"As well as this," Aizen continued, "Silbido-san has proved herself more than adequate with the completion of the task which I set her. It is her whom you owe gratitude for the extension of your chambers."

To say that Amaya had been surprised that Aizen had listened to the Espada's requests, would be an understatement. But he had done more than listened, he had complied. Grimmjow had been given a larger bedroom for his _personal space_. Stark had been given early afternoons off for a nice siesta. Even Aaroniero had been given _another_ room with no windows or light. Of two things Amaya was certain; Espada were weird and Aizen was unpredictable.

"I don't need a babysitter! I can look after myself!" Grimmjow screamed and stomped his foot defiantly. Aizen actually sighed.

"Grimmjow, be a good boy and just do as you're told, would you?"

Grimmjow looked at the ground, recognising defeat when he saw it, and mumbled uselessly, "But I don't wanna."

"Well, now that that's settled, you both may leave." Aizen took another sip of tea. Grimmjow turned and started stamping his way towards the exit angrily. Amaya looked between Aizen and him quickly before hurrying after. Grimmjow stopped in front of the man by the door and glared.

"This was all your idea, wasn't it?" he said through gritted teeth.

Gin just grinned in response.

Grimmjow huffed again before finally leaving. Amaya took a few seconds to stare at Gin, trying to work out what he was thinking, and whether this was indeed all his idea, before following.

The door closed loudly behind her.

"So, err, Grim-"

Grimmjow turned so fast Amaya couldn't see it.

"Shut it!"

"Ok." She whimpered with wide eyes.

Grimmjow started marching off down the corridor. Amaya had to jog to keep up with him.

"That bloody, good-for-nothing, bastard." He was mumbling to himself. "Like I need help. I don't need nobody. And now I've got to put up with the friggin' clumsiest Arrancar in the whole of Las Noches. Who the hell would want _you_ as a Fraccion?"

He halted and rounded on her quickly, pointing accusingly at her chest. Amaya froze.

"Um, I dunno," she started sputtering, "maybe someone who didn't know me, or, err, maybe someone who thought I was someone else, or, umm, maybe-"

"Do you always talk so effing much?" Grimmjow shouted.

"Oh, err, not usually, but sometimes when I'm nervous I just start to talk and it's really difficult to stop me and I don't really know what I'm saying and it's kind of embarrassing and-"

"Stop talking!"

"Yessir."

Hey! It wasn't like Amaya was too keen on the whole deal either. Getting promoted to such a level would only mean being noticed more than she was at the moment. And she really didn't want to be noticed. And as if being considered a Fraccion wasn't bad enough, she had to be _Grimmjow's_ Fraccion. He could be somewhat ill-tempered occasionally. And that could be somewhat scary and terrifying and awful and- Yeah. Bad.

If this really was Gin's fault, then he would have all hell to pay later.

---

"I still don' get why yar so interested in 'er."

Aizen narrowed his eyes and looked thoughtfully at the white floor below him. Getting up to this throne so high from the ground was rather difficult. And he still hadn't found a sensible way to get down that wouldn't involve him making a fool of himself in front of everyone. He pondered Gin's words that had echoed from the back of the hall.

"It is not merely a question of interest. It is more a question of caution."

This girl made him uneasy, and he had finally realised why. Aizen liked to know exactly what was happening in his kingdom at all times. And he could not read her like he could the others. She was constantly thinking something which he did not know. It was unsettling.

"So yar using Grimmy-kun as an excuse ta watch 'er, ne?" Gin questioned. "Ya still want me ta keep close ta her?"

Aizen smiled.

"That, Gin, would be correct."

---

Grimmjow slammed his fists down on the table for about the fifth time in the same number of minutes. Why wouldn't she just leave him alone?

"What the hell do you want?" he shouted exasperatedly. Amaya looked down causing her red hair to cover her face.

"I, uh, wondered if I could do anything? If you need any help or anything?"

Grimmjow sighed once again. Stupid Aizen. Grimmjow thought he had asked for _more_ personal space, not some bimbo following him around all day. He couldn't even fill out this blasted paperwork in peace!

Grimmjow stopped fuming for a second as he realised what he had just thought. He slid the paper across the desk to Amaya. "Do this."

Amaya looked up and swiftly turned the paper around so that she could read it.

"Yessir."

Maybe having a Fraccion wouldn't be so bad, after all.

---

Amaya watched Grimmjow from her seat next to his. He seemed to be concentrating extremely hard for something which everyone else could do so easily. The bowl of soup on the table sat motionless. The white ceramic presented about as much of a challenge as a dead fly. And yet Grimmjow seemed oddly on-edge.

"Why don't you-"

"Shut up!" Grimmjow interrupted her angrily. "I'm trying to concentrate!"

"I thought you wanted my help?" Amaya asked irritably. She had had just about enough of people, mainly Grimmjow, telling her to shut up for today.

"I do." Grimmjow muttered. It had taken him an enormously long time to work up the courage to ask for help with this, or with anything for that matter. Amaya supposed he was used to the idea that he was independent and didn't need help from anyone. Admitting weakness must have been a trial for this lone cat. "You're meant to be smart, aint you?"

"I, uh," she didn't quite know how to respond to that. Nobody ever looked at her tumbling form as she dropped a hammer on her foot or fell through a window and said 'wow, she must a bright one'. Unless they were being sarcastic, of course. "… suppose so."

Grimmjow was glaring at the soup again. After a minute of solid staring, he let out a snarl.

"Don't growl at it!"

Grimmjow swung his head round to face her, eyes wide.

"Why not?" he screamed. Amaya sighed.

"Look," she started explaining, "this whole mess with you and food is supposedly because you're too manly, correct?" Grimmjow nodded. "Well, it's not going to help then if you act _more_ manly to the food, is it? If anything, I suggest you become more feminine."

Grimmjow punched the table, causing the soup to slop messily over the sides of the bowl.

"I'm not a girl!"

"I never said that you were!"

"But you just said-"

"Okay," Amaya drew in a breath and tried to calm herself. This would take all her reasoning skills. "I'm not suggesting you are, or in any way should become, a girl. I am merely stating that there are certain things you could do to decrease your manliness before eating. The rest of the time, of course, you could be your manly self. But if you want to eat, then you are going to have to act with less brutality."

Grimmjow didn't seem to get this, and he roared at the soup. Amaya's hair practically stood on end.

The soup evaporated.

Grimmjow blinked. He rotated his head to Amaya and she knew that he had finally seen sense.

"How?"

Amaya looked at Grimmjow and put a finger to her mask's remnants in thought.

"Well, first rule – no growling at the food." She told him. He half-nodded, which she supposed was consent. "Second," she continued, "you may want to change into a different t-shirt or something."

"Why?"

"Because, um, well, I think you kind of need to cover up your abdominal area." Grimmjow's eyes narrowed. He didn't understand. Amaya pointed to the aforementioned area, for the first time actually looking at it. "It… can be… kind of…" she tried to explain but only felt the weight of a black hole suck the thoughts from her brain, "… nice."

Grimmjow stared warily at the blank-eyed girl in front of him. Her head was slowly graduating towards his stomach and he could swear he saw a bit of drool at the edge of her mouth.

"Uh, Maya?"

Her head snapped back up, her eyes wide, lips sucked in and a monumental blush across her face.

She let out a squeak which he guessed would have been a 'yep?' if her lips weren't so tightly clamped together.

"So I wear a sweater or something." Grimmjow said, trying to get Amaya back to normal. "What else?"

"Well…" Grimmjow did not like the tone she was using. "I have some other ideas, but I don't think you're going to like them."

Oh dear.

---

"What is this gunk?"

Amaya sighed.

"For the twentieth time," she started, "this is honey, egg yolk and olive oil, that is banana and almond oil, that is green tea with camomile, that is glycerine and rosewater, and _that_ is salt, lime and mint. It's quite simple really."

"Not for a guy, it isn't!" Grimmjow yelled.

"Stop shouting!" Amaya ordered him. "You're cracking the facial mask."

Grimmjow grumbled something to himself, before asking, "Which one is the facial mask again?"

"The one on your face."

"Which is…?"

"Honey, egg yolk and olive oil." Amaya informed him. Any hope she had had of being able to rest had been dashed by Grimmjow's incessant whining. And she had thought this was such a good idea too. Not only could she come out of this with perfect skin and hair, but she could do so while working. And she was helping Grimmjow, of course, she couldn't forget that. Yet, somehow he was ruining it. "Now, hush up and relax."

"How the hell am I meant to relax when I've got banana on my hands, mint in my hair, and my feet in rosewater?" he complained, _again_.

"Actually," Amaya corrected, "it's rosewater on your hands, banana in your hair, and your feet in mint."

"Argh!" She heard the sound of clothes rustling from beside her. "This is retarded!"

Amaya carefully lifted the tea bags off her eyes and peered at the gunk covered man on the seat next to her. He just wouldn't stop fiddling. She sat up and whipped the tea bags from his eyes so that he too could see.

"Fine!" she cried, giving up. "Fine! I guess you'll just have to put up with evaporating food forever then!"

Grimmjow seemed to consider this for a moment before grabbing the tea bags back from Amaya's hands, and replacing them on his eyes. He humpfed but said nothing. Amaya shook her head in dismay. She leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes, letting the various creams and liquids do their work.

"Besides," she said after a couple of minutes, "lot's of guys get facials."

Grimmjow simply growled.

---

Grimmjow plonked himself down determinedly in front of another bowl of soup.

Amaya watched.

She had to admit she was rather disappointed about the sweater, but she reminded herself it was just for the moment and he would be virtually topless again in less than an hour.

She noticed that he was trying _really_ hard to control a growl that was pushing its way forward, and he managed to keep it inside successfully. Heroically, he picked up the spoon.

Amaya gulped.

He resolutely gripped the spoon, dug into the soup, and pulled the liquid to his mouth. He stuck it in and swallowed. He froze.

Amaya bit her bottom lip.

"And?" she asked nervously. Grimmjow placed the spoon beside the bowl again calmly.

"It tastes," he spoke, "funny."

"Bad funny? Oh, I knew it. I guess it'll be impossible for you to ever have a real meal. I'm sorry. I guess I'm just not good enough and I shou-"

"No." he interrupted. Amaya furrowed her eyebrows. "It tastes like food."

---

Aizen sat in the chair at the end of the table around which all the Espada were gathered. He was trying to listen to Tousen's update but something kept distracting him. It was odd. But it was there nonetheless.

"And so we must learn to progress, for if we do not then justice will not be found and that would lead to a path full of injustice. For if we cannot justify ourselves then-"

"Kaname." Aizen finally gave in and stopped the report. The Espada looked at him expectantly. He took another sip of his tea before continuing, "Grimmjow."

"Yeah?" Grimmjow replied hiding the nervousness he felt. What had he done this time?

"Why is your skin so soft and silky?"

---

**Wahay! Grimmjow can finally eat! Isn't Amaya a good little Arrancar? Making his skin all soft and silky**

**I love facials, but then I'm a girl. Grimmjow does not. Aizen does. He's always craving the newest way to get that perfect complexion. All those things are actually recipes for masks and the like that you can make at home btw. Personally, I use a banana and oatmeal facial, but I didn't want two bananas in the list. Skin is important. Its so important it covers the whole of your body, except for eyes, I guess.**

**I am seriously gonna try and get the next one out faster. I really wanna finish this story by September, and at the rate Im going atm it aint gonna happen. So speed!**

**Next chap will develop the story more I think. No more messing around with randomness! Well, that I doubt. My whole story is randomness. But you get the idea…**

**Long time no see  
But let me explain  
I've been a busy bee  
Trying to stay sane.  
Ok, that's a lie,  
It's simply not true.  
But from now I will try  
To be faster, so review?**

**Haha! Poem galore!**


	18. Gossip Pages

**DUDE!! MEGA EVENTS IN THE MANGA!! But I wont ruin it for any of you who don't read it. All I'll say is: OMFG WHATS HAPPENED TO THOSE TWO??**

**Ahem. Has anyone else noticed how KT likes to cut ppl's arms off? It seems to happen over and over again. And yet they never care that they've now got stumps instead of limbs. Also the general was like 'you should be ashamed of urselves' but its all kinda his fault in the first place for making such goddamn stupid decisions. Suck on that Yama.**

**I would apologize for the wait, but ur prob tired of hearing it. **

**Chapter 17: Gossip pages**

---

"Where're ya goin', Maya-chan?"

"Some of us actually have to work, you know? I expect Grimmjow wants me to fill out some paperwork or collect someone whom he wishes to maim or something." Amaya finished pulling her skirt on and then began looking around the plain room for her top. Gin remained spread out under the sheets. Amaya wondered if he was really even listening.

"Ya should stay." He said in a lazy tone that confirmed Amaya's suspicions.

"I can't." she pointed out, now rummaging under a chair to see if her shirt was there. No, there was only some grapefruits and what looks suspiciously like one of Tousen's scarves. She glanced around the room again. It had to be here somewhere.

"Whatcha doin'?"

Amaya kneeled and peered under the bed.

"Looking for my- Hey!" she stood and tried to grab the material that was swinging from Gin's fingers. He pulled it out of her reach. "Gin, give me my top back!"

Gin's grin increased.

"Say please."

Amaya scowled at him. He continued to hold the top on the other side of him just out of her reach. She sighed and gave in. "Please can I have my shirt back?"

Gin smiled broader than Amaya thought was possible.

"Nope."

Amaya swung her arm about, trying to reach the material. After failing several times she took a particularly daring swipe and only found herself fall face first onto the bed. She recovered as quickly as she could. Gin might be used to her clumsiness by now, but that didn't mean she wanted to show it off. She looked down and realised she was sitting on his chest. He looked rather smug.

"This was another one of your plans, wasn't it?" she grumbled.

"Why would ya think tha'?"

Amaya pouted. Then, taking advantage of Gin's momentary lapse in concentration she swiped her hand through the air towards the top. Gin moved it at the last minute.

"Give it back!" she continued to whine as she attempted to retrieve the shirt. But Gin was too quick for her and kept simply dodging at the last moment. It didn't even look as if he was trying. This continued for a good two minutes – Amaya wanting to wrestle the top from Gin's fingers and Gin not letting her even touch it. She was so intent on fetching the garment that she didn't even hear the knock on the door or the creak of it opening ten seconds later.

"Oh my God! I'm so sorry!"

Amaya froze. Her head slowly rotated towards the door, then back to Gin who was smiling serenely, then back to the door.

"Eek!" she squealed and yanked the sheets over to cover herself. The woman in the doorway was blushing profusely. Amaya realised what it must have looked like and she didn't blame the Numero for blushing. She _was_ sitting on top of Gin on the bed. He _did_ have one hand on her thigh. And she most definitely _was_ topless. This was bad. Amaya turned her face into Gin's chest to try to hide the tomato stains that was covering her cheeks.

"Yep?"

Amaya wanted to whack Gin right there and then. How could he be so calm in a situation like this? Was it normal for him to be found with a half naked woman mounting him? Oh my God, what if it was? What if-? No, Gin wasn't like that. Amaya knew he was creepy and certainly not the nicest of people, but he wasn't the type of guy that would fool around with multiple women. Was he? No, he must simply-.

"Um, Aizen-dono wishes to speak to you, Ichimaru-sama." The woman from the doorway said. Amaya had the sneaky feeling that she was trying not to laugh. She felt the movement that signalled Gin's nod and then heard the unmistakeable rustle of someone bowing and then closing the door behind them. Amaya didn't move.

"Maya-chan?"

She was so mortified she could barely think. All she knew was that she didn't want Gin to see her face when it was surely the same colour as her hair.

"Maya-chan?"

"Yeah?" she mumbled into his chest.

"I need ta go."

"Ok then." There was silence for a minute.

"Yar gonna have ta get off me."

"Oh." She crawled slowly off of him and instead stuck her face into the mattress. Gin chuckled. She stayed there for five minutes before she heard Gin open the door and she suddenly remembered something. She looked up. "Hey!"

"Yep, Maya-chan?" there was a worryingly innocent look on Gin's face.

"Give me my top back!"

Gin dug into his pocket and held the ball of red and white out to her. Amaya started to get up but Gin just shoved the bundle back into his pocket. Amaya raised her eyebrows expectantly. Gin shrugged.

"I think ya should go ta work like tha'."

"But-"

And with that he left.

---

"Sorry I'm late."

"Where the hell have you been?" Grimmjow shouted from his place at the desk where he was seriously trying to work out just how much damage he had caused to the towers this week. He looked up at his fraccion as she entered the room sheepishly. He did a double take. "And what the hell are you wearing?"

Amaya looked down at herself, then back up at him.

"Gin's taken all my shirts." She said as if that explained everything.

"Then get a new one!" he yelled. "Don't just cut a hole in a pillow case and shove that on!"

Amaya sat opposite him at the desk. She looked exhausted.

"I tried but everyone refused to sell me one!" she argued before adding in a grumble, "I think Gin's got the word out. As if his kleptomania wasn't enough."

Grimmjow growled. This was why she was late. Because that stupid fox had made her wander around in a pillow case looking for something to wear. And he had been left all on his own to fill out this goddamn paperwork!

Stupid shinigami traitors and their stupid libido and their stupid…

"Grimmjow, you're drawing skulls all over that form." Amaya peered over the paper. "And you've written 'death to foxes' about a dozen times."

"Yeah… Well… You try filling these out!"

Amaya sighed and took the form from him. "Ok."

Grimmjow growled again.

---

"Watch where you're go- Oh, Silbido-san, I didn't know it was you. I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

Amaya picked herself up from the floor and turned to the man she had just ran straight into, knocking a tower of weird looking devices out of his hands. She bent down and started picking them up.

"Um, yeah, it was my fault. Sorry." She apologised, making a little bow in the process. She handed something pink and bizarre back to the man. He looked shocked.

"No, no, my fault, my fault, you run on now, I'll pick these up."

Amaya raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, yes, perfectly sure."

To Amaya's complete horror the man then bowed to her and didn't look up again until Amaya had run around the corner away from him. It was pretty scary. No one had ever bowed to her in her entire life. Well, she wasn't exactly the type of person people were respectful of. Usually they tutted at her, not bowed. Maybe the man had simply been trying to pick something up and she had mistaken it for a bow. Maybe he put his back out and that was why he was standing like that. Yeah, he had just put his back out. There was nothing to worry about, except for the fact that she had just ran away from an injured Numero. Maybe she should go back and help him?

"Silbido-san!"

Amaya was startled out of her daze. An older-looking woman was running up to her, waving something in her hand. Amaya didn't recognise her, but obviously this woman knew who she was, something that was odd in itself. She wondered whether it was about the vase she had broken yesterday. She thought at the time it looked expensive.

"I'm really sorry! It was an accident!" Amaya cried, bowing repeatedly. The woman halted a few steps away and blinked.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing." Amaya played with the hem of her skirt nervously. "You wanted something?"

"Yes, I just received this notice that says I've been demoted from my position as cook." She explained hurriedly. Amaya frowned. What had this got to do with her? If the woman wanted to complain, then surely she should go to someone in charge of the catering division? "And I was, well, I was wondering whether you could ask it to be revoked? I'm really sorry about asking you, but I had no other options and I thought that with your position you could maybe do something about it. It really wasn't my fault or anything, the man in charge just doesn't like me! Please help me!"

"Umm…" Amaya had no idea why this woman was asking her about this. What did she mean by her position? Maybe she had ideas of grandeur to do with being a fraccion? Fraccions couldn't really change anything. It wasn't up to them.

"Please!" the woman grabbed hold of Amaya's hands and held them desperately to her chest. "Please just ask!"

Amaya was so taken aback by the woman's plea she really had no choice.

"Ok, I'll ask." She said quietly while nodding, not completely sure what she was agreeing to.

"Thank you! Thank you!" the woman cried while starting to rush away again. "My name's Laceno! Thank you!"

What was going on? Amaya stood and blinked, trying to clear her head and think straight. She decided to think nothing of it. She knew at least ten Arrancar whom were stranger than that woman, maybe she was just eccentric.

"Maya!"

Amaya turned again. What was is with people running up to her today? This time though, she did recognise the culprit.

"Del, hi!" she said cheerfully as the medic approached her. Delfina looked overly excited. She took Amaya by the shoulder and stared into her eyes.

"Is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"This of course! And what on earth are you wearing?" Del shouted and shoved some brightly coloured paper into her hands. Amaya murmured pillowcase before looking at them. She had never really been one for Las Noches gossip, and therefore found little time for the weekly magazine that was published there.

"The latest _¡__Hola!_?"

"Read it!" Del pointed aggressively at the cover headline. Amaya looked and read. Her eyes slowly widened.

"How did they find out?" she cried. Del jumped.

"So it's true?" she yelled.

"But- but-" Amaya stammered. Del sighed and led the Arrancar by the shoulder into the small medical room off the corridor, where Amaya knew Del most commonly worked. When they were safely away from prying ears Amaya felt safe to let loose. "_Floozy_?" she screamed angrily. Amaya flicked through the pages of the magazine to find the right article and started reading aloud in horror. "_'Aizen-sama's right hand man and all round hunk Ichimaru-sama seems to be having a bit more fun than usual. Reports keep coming in of his budding relationship with one Amaya Silbido, Numero sixty-three and newly appointed solitary member of Jeagerjaques' fraccion. Now, while the rumours keep pointing out the unlikelihood of any real feelings involved, we here at __¡_Hola_! feel the need to congratulate Amaya on such a fantastic grab. Ichimaru-sama is one hell of a catch and we all feel utter jealousy towards Amaya. What tactics the girl employed to get her man are something we'd all like to know. But one thing's for certain, maybe this dumb klutz aint what she seems. Some of the rumours-'_ Does it continue like this for the whole four pages?"

"Pretty much."

Amaya scanned the pages. There were several rather unflattering pictures of her being her usual clumsy self, alongside numerous photos of Gin looking even more handsome than she remembered him. Little hearts had been drawn everywhere.

"The rumour about the goat isn't true, is it?" Del asked. Amaya furrowed her eyebrows and Del pointed out the right paragraph. Amaya's eyes shot wide open again.

"Oh my God, no!"

"And the one about doing it in Aizen's chair?"

"No!"

"And what about the one with the pineapple?"

"No!"

"And the one with the turtles?"

"Look, I would never _ever_ even dream of doing anything remotely like that. Who the hell writes this stuff?" Amaya asked, not wanting to hear about any of the other absurd rumours about her and Gin's sex life. Del gave her a pitying look.

"Oh come on, Maya, you know the thing about _¡__Hola!. _It's written and published completely anonymously_._" Del put a finger to her lips. "Although, whoever they are must have a pretty serious crush on Ichimaru-sama. There's usually at least one article per issue about how amazingly fantastic he is. They probably made all these rumours up 'cause they were jealous of you."

"Have you got _any_ ideas who they are?" Amaya asked, her lips thinned. "There are a few things I want to set straight with them."

"Nope, sorry." Del scratched her head and thought a moment. "Although, there is someone you could ask. He knows more about _¡__Hola! _than the writers themselves probably do."

"Great, who?"

"I'm not sure you're going to like it…"

---

Amaya knocked on the door for the fourth time. It finally swung open and a head popped out.

"What is it? I'm extremely busy."

"Sorry to interrupt, Aporro-Grantz-san."

Szayel narrowed his yellow eyes at her, a small grin growing across his face. Amaya gulped.

"Oh," he said in such a creepy tone Amaya wanted to turn and run straight in the opposite direction, "it's you."

"I… I wanted to talk to you about _¡__Hola!._" She let out in a high-pitched rush. Szayel nodded.

"I expected you might." He opened the door fully for her. "Come in then."

Amaya tentatively stepped forward into the dark of Szayel's office. The last two times she had been here she had had to struggle to keep her attention off of the grotesque vials around the walls and she was not looking forward to repeating the experience. Amaya blinked when she looked around. To her immense relief she couldn't see even one glass jar in the room. The only thing that was remotely interesting was the complicated brass machine in the centre of the room, its many thin pipes and dials twinkling under the medical lamp placed beside it.

"What's that?" she asked before she could stop herself. The Espada, with his hair recently returned to the normal shocking pink, sat on a swivel chair across the room. He made some notes on a clipboard.

"An ocular photon manipulator with dismemberment capabilities." Szayel looked up and noticed the blank look on Amaya's face. "It cuts up and analyses eyes."

She really shouldn't have asked.

"So," she continued, trying not to dwell on the machine, knowing she would probably be sick if she did, "about _¡__Hola!..."_

Szayel dramatically stood and walked to a door on the far side of the room. There was a complicated locking system that he swiftly undid, including eye scans and fingerprinting. He looked back over his shoulder as the heavy metal slid to the side leaving a great blackness before them. "Come."

Amaya bit her lip. She really didn't want to follow Szayel into some unknown dark abyss, but if he could tell her who ran the magazine… Her instinct for survival battled with her pride. In the end her pride won and she stepped through the doorway. The door slid shut behind her with an echoing thud. Amaya tried to make anything out, but the darkness was too deep. Then the lights suddenly switched on.

Amaya gasped.

In front of her stood rows upon rows of highly stacked shelves, towering above them, papers neatly piled upon them.

"What is this?" she breathed.

"This, Maya, is my most prized collection." Szayel announced proudly. "Behold! The greatest wonder of Hueco Mundo! The entire _¡__Hola! _back catalogue!"

"How-" Amaya was so startled she struggled to get out her sentence, "How many are there?"

"Seventeen years worth, my dear."

Amaya did some quick mental arithmetic. If she was correct than that meant almost nine hundred copies were in this room. Szayel must be pretty fanatical.

She tore her eyes away from the shelves to find him. He was dancing around the magazines singing softly to himself.

"Impressive, isn't it?"

More _obsessive_.

"Um, yeah. It's great." Amaya put her mind back in order. "I just wanted to know if you knew who wrote it, though."

Szayel approached her. She didn't like the look in his eyes. It reminded her of a mantis about to strike.

"My dear," he said not five inches from her face, "to hypothesise you must first analyse."

"I guess-"

"Even I do not know the identity of the remarkable being that creates such works of genius." Amaya sighed. Was all this for nothing? "I do, however, know that there are several clues hidden within the art. I shall, therefore, allow you to peruse the issues and spot these clues. If you work out who is the author and publisher from that then you will my eternal gratification. Although, I doubt this is possible, seeing as even the mighty brain of me has not come up with an answer. But it is worth a chance."

"What?" Amaya's head was spinning. Did he just say she was meant to look through the magazines for clues? _All nine hundred of them_? That would take an eternity.

"Now," Szayel continued, ignoring Amaya's disbelief, "there is a complicated cross-reference system in place. The issues are of course ordered by publish date, but…"

What?

"… and I would be most upset if anything was put out-of-place…"

What?

---

Amaya wanted to scream. It had taken her three hours just to scan what must have been only a twentieth of the gigantic collection. Most of the time, however, she had spent trying to get used to Szayel's bizarre organisation scheme. In no way did she want to get something mixed up. Szayel would probably slaughter her on the spot.

She had just finished scanning an article on the Freudian nightmare which was Nnoitra, claiming that he was in fact deeply in love with a goldfish called Steve. Amaya sighed. Most of these were entire rubbish. All she had gathered in her three hours about the mysterious journalist was that, apart from the blatantly obvious love for Gin, they had a wild imagination.

The piece on Tousen's alleged relationship with a mop was proof of that. Apparently Tousen had dated this mop for years before someone had pointed out to him that it wasn't actually a very quiet supermodel. Amaya had almost laughed at that one.

The edited pictures of Tousen and a mop with cartoon features together were particularly funny.

Amaya paused.

Something occurred to her.

She rifled through the magazines as quickly as she dared until she came across the right one. She flipped through the pages until she reached the article about the mop. She stared at the picture.

There was something extremely familiar about those cartoon eyes.

---

"What in God's name do you think you're playing at?" Amaya shouted as she slammed the copy of _¡__Hola! _Del had given her down on the table.

"What d'ya mean, Maya-chan?"

"Don't you dare give me that, you mouldy pile of worms!"

Gin simply smiled up at her. Amaya screamed in frustration.

"Somethin' wrong, Maya-chan?"

Over the course of their relationship, Amaya had slowly become accustomed to Gin's presence, and in turn had started to treat him on a more equal level. She had always, though, remembered his position as one of the leaders of Las Noches. That, however, went completely out the window at this point.

Gin's head snapped round from the force of her slap. Amaya swore she could see a flicker of surprise cross his face, but that was soon replaced by his usual mask.

"Why?" she yelled at him. "Why did you write all those nasty things?"

Gin cocked his head at her. "Yar smart, Maya-chan, even Szay-kun aint worked it out."

The anger was leaving Amaya fast, but in its place a well of sadness blossomed. He had written such horrible lies about her. And why? For a few cheap laughs, no doubt. Was that really all she meant to him? Was she just entertainment?

"Why?" she repeated in a softer voice. Tears were threatening to fall, the reason for them not one she wanted to admit, but she forced them back.

"They were bound ta find out soon." Gin shrugged. Amaya bit her lip to stop the sob that was making its way forward at his flippancy. Gin stood from his seat and brushed his thumb against her cheek where a stray tear and wrestled free. "Yar cryin'."

"No, I'm not."

"Ya are."

"I'm not."

Gin chuckled. Amaya shoved his arm.

"It's jus' words." He said with a slightly more solemn tone than usual. Amaya kept her eyes on the floor.

"Words hurt."

There was silence for several seconds.

"They aint true." Gin finally replied.

"I'm starting to think nothing you ever say is true."

"Probably."

Amaya's head shot up and she whacked Gin on the arm again. She refused to let the small laugh out. There was just something about this man that meant she couldn't stay mad at him, no matter how much she wanted to. Gin laughed. Amaya pouted in protest, but didn't stop him when he pulled her into a hug.

"You're such an idiot." She muttered.

"Yep."

Amaya looked up at him, suddenly remembering something very important about his magazine.

"And what the hell is with your ego?"

---

**Not brilliant, I know, but it's been a while since I wrote anything and I think my funny bone is broken. I shall have to get it a bandage. **

**Fillers AGAIN. Darn it. Apparently they'll be ok this time though, so ill at least give them a chance.**

**Oh yeah, and check out CleosDeath's stories, which I'm now beta-ing. One's HP and the other's for a book series called Dark Ones. Theyre good so read them.**

**Gah it's hot. It's like 85 degrees out. Waaayy too hot for us brits. I'm meltiiinngg!!**

**---**

**Ok IMPORTANT. On the 18****th**** I'm going to Uganda for almost a month to do some volunteer work with lil kiddies. Just to let you know, there wont be comps there, so if there isn't another chap up before then, then there wont be one until I get back mid-august. We'll see what happens.**

**---**

**Poem time…**

**Summer is here  
And the weather's severe  
So why don't you stay inside?  
We'll have lots of fun  
Out of the sun  
Reading my stories worldwide.  
But something's amiss.  
Where is my bliss?  
No reviews have been supplied!**


	19. Escaped

**Dude it's been ages, aint it? Like a year or somin. **

**Soz, I kinda gave up on anime for a while though, including Bleach. The other day I got really bored though and decided to catch up majorly on the manga. It's been an effing year and he still hasn't effing finished the storyline! Christ that's bad. It's worse than me. I don't waste space with dragging fights on… I just don't write at all. Yeah… sorry bout that…**

**This one aint got much comedy in, its mainly dramatic and shizzaz. Yeah and Amaya's released form is revealed! Woot!**

**Chapter 18: Escaped**

Szayel was busy.

He had just received the latest copy of _¡__Hola! _

It was very important he took notice of the information concerning Barragan and a watermelon.

He sat at his desk, his mind deeply absorbed in the fascinating news. A small beeping noise sounded from the main computer system, distracting him for a moment. It was extremely irritating, but Szayel did not want to look up from the magazine. He tried to ignore it.

"Oh, for the love of Aizen!" he let out while finally giving up on reading in peace. He slammed the magazine shut and turned to the screen, pressing a few buttons to show what was so urgent that it had to disturb him while catching up on the gossip.

His anger immediately evaporated as he saw what the warning on the screen was telling him.

He froze.

Shit.

* * *

Amaya sighed and began sweeping little pieces of china into a dustpan.

She really shouldn't have to do these sorts of things. There was an entire division of Arrancar who were meant to clean the Espada's rooms if they needed. But apparently Grimmjow refused to let any more unnecessary people into his chambers. Amaya had grumbled at the 'any more'. She wasn't that unnecessary! And it wasn't her fault the dish had slipped out of her hands!

It had been a good ten minutes since Grimmjow had been swept away to an emergency meeting, commenting on his way out that it was probably that Aizen had noticed a lack of tea or something stupid. Grimmjow seemed to really loathe those meetings. Amaya saw why. They weren't exactly the pinnacle of culture.

"Stupid- bloody- scientists!"

Amaya looked up suddenly at the loud noise as the door slammed open. Grimmjow stormed inside, huffing all the way.

"You!" He pointed at Amaya. She jumped a little. It had been a while since Grimmjow had shouted at her – at least two hours in fact – and she wondered what she had done this time. "Go search the fourth floor!"

"Uh… ok, but…" she said. Grimmjow glared at her as if daring her to disagree. "What am I searching for?"

"Something tall and freaky looking with two heads," was all he answered as he slouched down into a chair. Amaya blinked.

"Aaroniero?"

Grimmjow dropped the pen he had just picked up. "No, not Aaroniero! If I had meant Aaroniero, I would have said Aaroniero!" He paused before adding quietly for good measure, "Dumbass."

"Then- then what?"

He shrugged. "One of Szayel's stupid experiments has escaped. Aizen wants us to go find it before it rips half the population to shreds or something."

Er… what now? Rips half the population to shreds?

"You do it." Grimmjow muttered grumpily.

"Me?" Amaya asked incredulously.

Grimmjow again shrugged. Amaya gulped.

* * *

The fourth floor corridors were basically disserted, but that wasn't anything unusual. Sometimes there just weren't that many people about. And she hadn't spotted anything tall and freaky looking with two heads that didn't continuously moan about the lack of dark places in Las Noches. In fact, the only other person Amaya had run into was a wailing Yammy whom had apparently gotten lost on the way to search the sixth floor. It had taken her at least five minutes to convince him that Ulquiorra wasn't the only person who could direct him to the right stairwell.

Amaya rifled through a filing cabinet full of documents, browsing over the headings in order to find the one she was meant to. She had already checked the top two drawers only to find nothing. She was beginning to lose hope of ever finding it. All there appeared to be in this one was a monumental amount of reports on the garbage system by Ulquiorra. Someone had a serious trash fetish.

She groaned and closed the drawer. She reached out to the next one up, hoping maybe that one would contain something useful.

A high pitched giggle reverberated off of the high ceiling.

Amaya stopped and quickly stood up, looking for the source. Her eyes scanned the darkness. Nothing moved. And yet she had definitely heard the laughter.

She slowly turned back to the cabinet, keeping her senses keen.

Her snapped up as she heard it again – the sniggering. It wasn't a friendly laugh. It wasn't even Gin's sneaky one. This one was sinister. Cruel.

A shadow flashed in her peripheral vision. Amaya swept around to see it was.

There didn't seem to be anything there.

Whatever it was was taunting her. Trying to scare her into making a mistake. They obviously didn't know she had a crazy cat for a boss and a creepy fox for a special friend. She didn't scare easy.

They laughter came again, this time closer.

Amaya spun around on the spot, having prepared herself. She instantly threw her mouth open wide and spat a weak bala at her taunter.

It slowed them down just enough for Amaya to see what it was.

It was certainly freaky looking. Two heads, one long and skinny, the other round and plump, were perched at different levels on necks which matched their appearance. The skinny one sat on a stick like thing that must have been three times the length of a normal neck. The round one squatted on something barely an inch long, and as thick as the head itself. It didn't even start at the top of the torso, giving it a hunched appearance. Long, skeletal arms dangled down past its knees and ended in four fingered, white hands. In one it held what looked like a long staff. The thing scuttled away as soon as Amaya caught sight of it on its six hideously spindly legs. Amaya immediately knew this must be Szayel's experiment. The experiment that could apparently rip half the population to shreds if it wished.

And by the looks of the manic gleam on its two faces, Amaya would say that it wished.

Amaya squeaked as she watched it scramble up the wall opposite her. She found it hard to keep her eyes on it, it was so fast. Amaya immediately hated it. It was just twisted… and it had six legs… that was just wrong.

One of the faces turned towards her and started laughing wildly in that cruel high-pitched tone.

Amaya didn't hesitate. She opened her mouth and sent another bala at the deformed being. It scuttled out of the way and the chunk of the wall cracked where the bala hit.

The thing hurried on, darting up and down the wall. Amaya barely had time to react as a cero was sent her way from the tip of that staff. She managed to duck in time but noticed that it wouldn't have hit her anyway.

"Boo."

Amaya swung around to where the voice had come from right over her shoulder. It was already half way up the wall in front of her, cackling as it went.

The thing was playing with her.

Damn it she wasn't anyone's toy.

She reared back and shot a succession of bala at it, following its rapid movements across the stone. One hit and it flopped down to the floor, six legs twitching in the air.

Amaya paused. What would Szayel do if he found that she had brutally murdered one of his prized experiments? Would he blame her? Or would he realise she had no choice?

Her momentary hesitation cost her and the thing flipped back onto its legs. The round face was no longer smiling. It was glaring.

Another cero shot her way. She dodged. This time if she hadn't her chest would have taken a direct hit. The beast wasn't playing anymore. Amaya resolved that if she got another chance she would definitely kill it. Otherwise it might just be her who ended up dead.

She managed to punch out at it as it appeared behind her, sending it a few feet back. The staff swiped forwards, cutting a deep gash in her right shoulder. Amaya cursed and tried to kick it away as it came even closed. She managed to push it backwards and it scuttled away up another wall. However, she lost her balance in the process and only just managed to remain upright.

The thing fired another cero at her. Amaya screamed and only narrowly got out of the way, her leg receiving a nasty burn anyway. She realised she wasn't going to win this fight. Her only chance was to escape and try to find help. She would have been sure that the noise would have caught somebody's attention. But this was a disserted corridor in the middle of a very big Las Noches. She doubted anyone would notice.

Amaya flung herself towards the only door in the room just as the thing made a jump down to her. If she hadn't moved it would have landed right on top of her.

Amaya ran. She was almost at the door when she tripped and landed flat on the floor. The thing caught up to her and seized her by the ankle. She tried to shake it off and heave herself away, but wasn't very successful.

Bloody legs. She just- wasn't- used to them.

"Escupir Cobra!"

The change was almost instantaneous and the thing leapt back in surprise. Amaya sighed in relief that maybe now she could get away. It was always so much easier to move in this form, without those bothersome legs.

Where her legs should have started, a long white tail slithered its way free, ending in a deep red, highly venomous spike. The spaghetti top had vanished, instead being replaced by white wraps clinging around her back and to her breasts, not quite meeting in the middle. These continued down her right arm to her wrist and also snaked its way up her left shoulder around her Hollow hole until it met with the base of a cobra's hood that encircled the left side of her head, clinging on by strips extending onto her face. The right side of her face was still covered by a mop of red hair, but the visible pupil was now a slit against the green background. Her nails had extended and turned blood red, each ending in a viciously toxic point.

Amaya thrashed her tail out as she heard the thing get over its surprise and approach her again, narrowly avoiding slicing open its cheek with that sting. She reared up and sent a cero its way while it was still recovering. The thing panicked and scurried to the other side of the room and climbed the walls until it was out of reach for that tail.

Amaya took her chance and slithered out of the room as fast as she could. She knew that even in her released form, the thing would surely get the better of her. Hopefully she would meet someone stronger who could actually deal with it as soon as possible.

She heard the soft tip-tapping of six feet on the stone following her. She turned briefly and fired a bala, not checking whether she was aiming at anything in particular. She had almost reached the end of the corridor and the stairs to the lower levels when the thing pounced and landed in front of her.

Amaya hissed and swiped with her tail.

The thing launched another cero from its staff.

This one hit Amaya straight in the chest. She fell backwards, coughing. She saw the spatters of red that was coming out of her mouth. She knew she couldn't hold out much longer. She gathered her remaining energy and spat it in the form of a cero at the creature.

She didn't even notice if it hit.

* * *

Gin had been wondering where Maya had got to. Grimmjow had apparently sent her to check the fourth floor for signs of Szayel's pet over an hour ago. But when Gin had checked that floor he had found nothing.

It was only when he trotted up the steps to the fifth floor that he heard something odd.

Szayel's pet looked startled as it glanced down at its chest. The shining glimmer of a sword stuck ungracefully out of its flesh, blood dripping from its tip. It collapsed as soon as the sword was withdrawn, twitching sporadically on the floor.

Gin looked at the scene in front of him – the barely alive creature and the bleeding Maya in her cobra form.

Hmm.

Szay-kun wouldn't be happy with him.

**Yeah so there. Weren't brilliant was it? And I told you it weren't funny. And it was quite short. TBH I didn't really know how I was gonna include Maya's released form so I just bunged it in. You can notice, cant you? Oh, and theres an illustration of Maya's snakiness on my devart.  
**

**It'll be interested to see how many people actually read this chapter after such a long gap. I bet most of you have forgotten about me. Wahh! Don't forget Rosie!**

**I've decided that I'm only gonna do a few more chaps of this story. Soz. But otherwise it'll never get finished. **

**I'll leave you with a quote from my awesome brother that is so deep it'll have you thinking for days; 'Don't joke about ostriches. They're very serious birds.'**

**Review?**


	20. Death's Reflection

**I have decided that this shall be the penultimate chapter. Originally I was gonna have another one, but I realised that there really wasn't enough to fit into two chapters so I just put it all in this one. Good thing too since this isn't much longer than the average chapter.**

**There will be a bit of comedy but its mainly gonna be serious for obvious reasons.**

**As I told you before, there isn't going to be a happy ending.**

**Chapter 19: Death's reflection**

Amaya groaned weakly.

She was aching all over. It felt as if she had just volunteered to become Yammy's new punching bag. Every nerve in her body was letting out little screams of protest. She tried to move. The screams turned into full blown wails. She decided maybe it would be better if she just stopped trying. If she allowed herself to drift back into that cold darkness maybe it wouldn't hurt so much. She could wake up later when the pain had subsided. She knew everyone always said that you should try to stay awake, that falling away only led to an easier death, but right now, Amaya couldn't really see the point of struggling against the tide. It was just so strong.

And then she heard it.

Somewhere, off towards the distance, so faint she barely noticed, was a light chuckling sound.

She recognised it. She knew she did. From where she couldn't remember, but someplace locked deep away inside her mind told her that it was important. The person laughing was important to her. And she felt the sudden uncontrollable urge to not get swept away by the numbing cold, to fight with all her might against it.

She needed to wake up.

Amaya tried to speak up and let the person know she was awake and needed help, but even the act of opening her lips was too much of a task and all that came out was a low groggy hum. This shouldn't be so hard. All she wanted to do was open her eyes and look around. She wanted to know just who it was that was so important to her. She wanted to know why she wanted to wake up.

"Go back ta sleep, Maya-chan, it'll only hurt more if yar awake."

It was alright then. She could sleep. She could let the cold take hold of her and forget the pain. If this person said it would be better then it would. She didn't know why, but she believed them.

* * *

"Wormai?"

"In the medical ward, where'd you think?"

Amaya knew that voice. She had heard it many times before. It was a little bit comforting. She struggled and finally managed to pry her eyes open. Everything was a blurry mess. She blinked slowly and just lay there for a few minutes, letting everything adjust and her memory reform.

"I was attacked by that experiment." She finally made out of the mess that was her mind. The ceiling above started to take on a definitive form.

"Don't worry; it's dead."

Amaya very slowly turned her head to the side to see who it was she was talking to.

"Del?"

"Well, duh." Delfina was busy checking on some instrument which was displaying what looked to Amaya like random colours. She tried to sit up and groaned loudly at the pain in her chest. Del walked over to her. "Don't strain yourself. It was quite a nasty injury you got there."

She helped prop Amaya up on some pillows on the bed. She was giving her a serious look. Suddenly she whipped out a medical flashlight and began shining it into Amaya's sore eyes. Amaya winced. Del sat back on the side of the bed and held up her hand.

"How many fingers?" she asked severely.

"Three."

Del sighed. "You'll be fine. But you need to be more careful, Maya."

"It wasn't my fault that thing up and jumped me!" she defended herself. Yes, she expected Del to tell her this when she had tripped over something or dropped something or accidently fallen out of a window and onto an angry Nnoitra, but not over something like this! This most definitely was not down to her clumsiness.

"You know what I mean." Del said plainly in an obviously warning tone. Amaya frowned. How-?

"Yar up, Maya-chan!"

Amaya swept her head around. Gin was grinning broadly as he stood in the doorway.

"Gin!"

Del glanced between the two of them with a slight smile on her face before promptly excusing herself and leaving. Gin moved into the room and sat on the edge of the bed where she had previously been sitting.

"How're ya feeling?" he asked her happily. Amaya shrugged with some effort.

"Ok, I guess. My chest is killing me, but I suppose that's to be expected."

Gin's smile grew and became even slyer. "D'ya wan' me ta check it for ya?"

Amaya was severely tempted to say yes to that, but to be honest she really wasn't feeling up to having a roving Gin inspect her wounds. She also, however, wasn't feeling up to stopping him if he tried anything. She felt one of his hands suddenly slide inconspicuously onto her stomach where it rested. Amaya bit her lip.

"Why the hell aren't you at work?"

Amaya was distracted from Gin's wandering hands by the yell. Her head snapped around and she gaped at a very pissed looking Grimmjow standing by the door. She felt Gin's touch disappear.

"What?" she asked surprised. Grimmjow stormed closer to her, his arms crossed, hiding some of that delicious torso of his.

"You're awake, why aren't you at work?" he asked her forcibly.

Amaya blinked. "Maybe because I just had a giant hole blown into my chest?"

"And maybe I've got a mountain of paperwork that keeps piling up! I've nearly been killed tons of times but you don't see me lying about!"

"I'll be back at work soon enough. I usually heal pretty fast." Amaya told him plainly.

"Fast isn't good enough! Look at this!" he shouted before shoving a piece of paper into her face. Amaya took it from him and read the title. It was confusing. What was a departure form?

"What's this?"

"Aizen brought out a new bloody form that we need to fill in every time we kill someone! I've already got sixteen to fill out and I don't even get what they're asking!"

Amaya narrowed her eyes. Sixteen? How long was she out? She looked at Grimmjow. He glared back with a small pout on his face. Amaya sighed. This was his way of asking for help, however misguided it may be.

"All right," she gave in, "bring up a chair and I'll help. Help, mind you, not do the entire thing."

"I better go then, Maya-chan." Gin said getting up. She nodded and felt a blush creep over her cheeks as he kissed her forehead before leaving. Grimmjow plonked down on a chair next to her, moody as ever. Amaya wanted to pat his head.

"Ok, so you've already filled out their names and ranks, now why did you kill this one?"

"He threw out my ball of string."

* * *

Amaya knocked on the door before entering. She had been right; it had only taken another day for her to heal enough to be able to get back to work. Grimmjow had been very pleased about that. Amaya knew he would never admit it, but she had the sneaky suspicion he had missed her.

"Hello?" she called into the dark room.

She got no reply. She walked further inside, thinking that maybe one of these ticking or whirring machines had made it impossible for them to hear her. She looked around carefully. There didn't seem to be any sign of life apart from those slipping into her field of vision from the jars on the shelves.

Szayel wasn't at home.

She should turn around and leave. She knew that. But her curiosity was starting to get the better of her. And, hey, when was she going to get another opportunity like this?

She began inspecting the large machine in front of her. It appeared to be clockwork and the many cogs were continuously turning. She was gazing at it, trying to figure out what it did, when something caught her eye.

She paused and debated in her mind what she should do. On the one hand this was Szayel's laboratory and nothing very nice could be in Szayel's laboratory. On the other hand, it was just so… pretty.

He slowly made her way over to the strange object on the wall, wandering if maybe this was some sort of trap. But surely Szayel wouldn't put something dangerous on the wall where he was forced to go near it all the time? No, he'd probably keep something like that in a public corridor or something. Amaya gazed at it.

It was a mirror.

Except it obviously wasn't just a mirror.

It was perfectly round and flat, the sheen polished so precisely Amaya could see every pore on her skin. A ridge raised itself around its edge, still in that silvery reflective material. A handle came off from both sides, kind of like those old fashioned trays you saw. Amaya wondered why there would be handles on a wall mirror. But the most curious object was hanging from the exact centre of the bottom of the mirror – a small, plain, silver bell.

It was bizarre. There didn't seem to be any other adornments or writings on or indeed even in the same vicinity as the mirror. It was just there. Amaya knew it was a bad idea. She kept telling herself that. But something strange was pulling at her arm, bringing it up to the same height as the mirror. She wished she wouldn't, but couldn't stop herself as she tapped on the bell.

A quiet dainty chime echoed throughout the room; somehow clear as day over the machines.

Amaya waited with bated breath, staring into the mirror. Nothing happened. After ten seconds she sighed in relief. She was beginning to turn away when the mirror changed.

It started as a small ripple at the centre of its surface. Then, as all ripples do, it grew and stretched out across the mirror. More followed. It was as if the reflection had suddenly been turned to liquid and invisible droplets were falling sideways onto it. Amaya frowned, wanting to turn away, but something in the reflection caught her attention.

It was her.

And just like that everything shifted. Amaya knew she was still in Szayel's laboratory. She could feel the ground beneath her feet and hear the machines clicking away just as loudly as before. None of those senses were diminished, but now they were just insignificant as Amaya gazed out at a new scene.

She was standing in a dark room with high ceilings, staring blankly at the wall a few feet in front of her. There was a rough cough from near her feet and Amaya looked down.

She gasped and stepped back.

No.

For there, slumped against the wall, a large gash starting at their throat and making its way all the way down to their stomach, was herself.

Something wet touched her foot. She looked down and let out a little scream. She was standing a giant pool of what looked like her own blood, seeping out of the wound in the other her's torso.

No.

The other her coughed again and a deep crimson spewed out of her mouth, staining what white remained of her outfit a red that blended perfectly with her hair. He head fell back onto the wall behind her, her eyes drooping.

No.

Amaya saw the tension suddenly leave the other her's body as she collapsed limp where she lay.

"No!" Amaya screamed and tried to run to herself, but she only found she was back in Szayel's laboratory, staring blankly at the mirror in front of her.

The little bell waved gently in a nonexistent breeze.

Amaya turned and ran from the room.

That couldn't have been the future. It just couldn't have.

She wouldn't let it.

* * *

Amaya walked calmly into the dark room, making as little sound as possible. She was almost there. She could feel it.

It was a drastic measure, but they needed to be taken now.

It must be here. It just had to be.

"You have been a busy little bee, haven't you," Amaya swept around at the voice echoing forth from the shadows, "Silbido-san?"

"A- Aizen-sama!" Amaya exclaimed while bowing as low as was humanly possible. Aizen stepped forwards. A smirk took up its usual place on his face. This time, Amaya absolutely loathed it. It truly scared her to her very core.

"Now, now, Silbido-san," Aizen said with a light tone that caused a shiver to run down Amaya's spine, "there is no need to act so civil."

"Y- Yes, Aizen-sama!"

"I repeat, there is no need to continue acting." Aizen took a few steps forwards and Amaya backed away. Soon she felt her back hit the cold wall behind her. "Your little friend Delfina has been so very… _useful_."

"W- What do you mean?" she stuttered out, flicking her eyes about the room. She spotted a silent Tousen standing close by the door, his face half in shadow. She desperately wanted someone to burst through those doors with some urgent news that might distract Aizen, but severely doubted it would happen that way.

Aizen tutted and turned away. Amaya almost let out a sigh at the relief she was feeling.

It caught in her throat at his next word.

"Gin."

From the shadows opposite Amaya stepped a widely smiling Gin. He looked at Aizen, but didn't meet Amaya's pleading gaze. Any hope at seeing him quickly faded with the expression he was giving Aizen. Aizen began walking away.

"Now."

"Okies, Sou-kun."

Amaya didn't have time to question what Gin was to do 'now'. Before she knew it a fountain of pain erupted from her abdomen and made its way up towards her neck. She sputtered and fell against the wall. When she looked down she saw a wide open valley down her torso, quickly oozing a thick red liquid. She peered up.

A few drops of blood fell from the tip of the short blade held loosely by Gin's side.

No.

**Trying not to give anything away from the next final chapter, all I'm going to say today is this.**

**Review please?**

**Before I forget, I've now put a character design on my devart. Dont worry, it dont contain anything from the next chap.  
**


	21. Rewind

**Hiatus finally over. I know it was pooey of me to go on one with only one chapter to go, but I just couldn't bring myself to write. **

**Here it is though, finally, the last ever instalment of Strike Before They Hiss. Hope you enjoy.**

**Chapter 20: Rewind**

Amaya could feel the strength leave her body. She could see how her extremities were gradually becoming paler, a soft numbness beginning at her fingertips and making its way towards her core. Her feet were now too weak, her calf muscles buckling under the strain. She collapsed onto the floor, her legs sprawled at odd angles beneath her torso. He head was becoming fuzzy. Too heavy for her neck to support, it lolled off of the wall and onto her shoulder.

The red of her blood stood stark against the white floor, but even that was becoming less clear. She struggled to hold onto the image, but lost it, new, more vibrant scenes taking up place in her mind.

Memories. Even in this frantic time, her brain was showing her exactly where she had gone wrong.

It was telling her why she was going to die.

* * *

Amaya walked calmly into the dark room, making as little sound as possible. She was almost there. She could feel it.

It was a drastic measure, but they needed to be taken now.

It must be here. It just had to be.

What she had seen in Szayel's mirror still haunted her thoughts. She had no doubt in her head that it had shown her own death, and that was what troubled her so much. She couldn't just die like that – not so quickly, so easily. There should at least have been a struggle, a battle, a tremendous failure.

Not just slipping away in the dark corner of a disserted room like a stray mutt.

Alone.

So she would leap into action now. There wouldn't be any more procrastination, never mind the evidence. She hadn't yet found everything she would have liked, but she knew enough. She knew what it did. She knew how it was made. She even knew why.

All that was left for her to know was where exactly it was.

But it must be here, nearby, there was nowhere else it could be.

_The Hougyoku._

"You have been a busy little bee, haven't you?"

* * *

The fourth floor corridors were basically disserted, but that wasn't anything unusual. Sometimes there just weren't that many people about. And she hadn't spotted anything tall and freaky looking with two heads that wasn't Aaroniero. In fact, the only other person Amaya had run into was a wailing Yammy whom had apparently gotten lost on the way to search the sixth floor. It had taken her at least five minutes to convince him that Ulquiorra wasn't the only person who could direct him to the right stairwell.

Seriously, Szayel should learn to keep better control of his pets. It wasn't like it was her fault one of them had started a far too long game of Hide and Seek. Grimmjow was just being his usual lazy self in making her go search instead of him.

Amaya knew it was risky – being here – but it was also an almost perfect opportunity. Everyone was too busy searching for the escaped experiment to wonder where she had got to. If she was found she could just say she had gotten the floor she was meant to check mixed up. Her clumsy personality meant that was more than likely anyway.

It had been here before. She remembered that clearly. She had thought it was in the top drawer of the filing cabinet, but it became obvious after ten minutes of rifling through the documents inside that it wasn't.

Maybe she had gotten the drawer wrong. Maybe someone had accidentally moved it into a different one.

She had to find it. It was essential to what she was going to do. Without it, all her work would come to nothing.

She needed proof.

A high pitched giggle reverberated off of the high ceiling.

* * *

"Give me my top back!"

Gin dug into his pocket and held the ball of red and white out to her. Amaya started to get up but Gin just shoved the bundle back into his pocket. Amaya raised her eyebrows expectantly. Gin shrugged.

"I think ya should go ta work like tha'."

"But-"

And with that he left.

Amaya stood there, letting her shock wash over her features for a few seconds as what Gin had just done sunk in. Did he honestly expect her to go to work topless? Or was it just one of his tests? That must have been it, surely; he wanted to see how resourceful she could be. No doubt he had made it more difficult than she would have normally expected.

Amaya shut the wardrobe.

Yep. Completely empty. Gin was good, she had to give him that.

Amaya paused, an idea occurring to her.

Gin was busy dealing with Aizen. And now she had an excuse.

She would search the room. If Gin returned he would naturally assume she was looking for something to wear. He wouldn't think any more of it. Unknowingly, he had given her the perfect chance.

There had to be some sort of clue in here – he was Aizen's second-in-command for pity's sake! Anything small, anything seemingly insignificant, just anything that she could use. Something to confirm her thoughts. Something that told her irrefutably that she was right. That what she had found in that filing cabinet could only mean one thing.

And if it came to it…

Well, she could always wear a pillowcase.

* * *

"Besides," Amaya said, "lots of guys get facials."

Grimmjow simply growled.

Clearly, he still wasn't happy about this, but quite possibly he had submitted to the idea that maybe she was right – maybe the only way to actually enjoy food without the taste molecules up and evaporating was to become more feminine. And by God, Amaya couldn't think of anything more feminine than being slathered with this gunk. Sometimes she thought she was too smart for her own good.

"Grimmjow?" she asked hesitantly, coming to the conclusion that he might possibly be too distracted with all the girly beauty creams to really notice what she was saying.

"What?" he grunted in response. Amaya steadied herself. She needed to word her questions right. She opened her eyes, ready to gauge Grimmjow's response.

"Why did you join Aizen?"

Grimmjow didn't say anything, but Amaya noticed every muscle in his body tense. She knew it was a big question, but it was one that needed to be asked. Hopefully, he wouldn't think it was anything other than mild curiosity.

At long last, Grimmjow shrugged. "Dunno."

Yes, he did. Amaya saw that. He just didn't want to tell her for some reason. She frowned. Grimmjow wasn't the type of person to blindly follow someone without good cause. Whether that cause was personal or something else she couldn't tell.

"Was it the power?" she asked after a minute of contemplation.

Grimmjow grumbled something under his breath that wasn't very polite. He obviously thought she was being too nosy for a proper Fraccion. "Why'd _you_ join?"

Amaya sighed. She leaned back into the chair and shut her eyes.

"Dunno."

* * *

"I am glad to see you could make it." Aizen addressed the Numero that stood before him.

Amaya bowed.

"You wanted to see me, Aizen-sama?" she asked trying to keep her nerves under control. Aizen peered down at her from atop his mighty throne. A serious look was on his face.

"Yes." he spoke calmly.

Amaya gulped. This was really, really bad. What if he had found out what she knew? What if he had realised what she was trying to do? What if he had noticed? But he couldn't have. It was nearly impossible. She hadn't even _done_ anything yet.

This, however, was Aizen, and Amaya wasn't completely sure just what Aizen's full powers were. There was a chance that she never even had to do anything at all. If he could somehow tell what she was thinking or inwardly feeling, then it wouldn't matter in the slightest if she made a move. Aizen wasn't one to suffer fools. If he could, he get rid of any threat before they even surfaced. But if that was the case, surely Amaya would already be rotting out of the desert sands. She just hoped Aizen didn't enjoy playing games with people.

No, he couldn't know. It hadn't been that long since she had found it anyway. No one else had seen and she had made sure her personality hadn't changed noticeably.

And yet, Amaya couldn't help the fear niggling away at the back of her skull, as if this man in front of her, peering down with the same cold eyes, already knew everything.

"I have a task for you."

* * *

Amaya stepped lightly along the fifth floor corridor.

She now knew what it was that she needed to do, even if the very idea of vaguely going behind Aizen's back made her want to vomit. But that was irrelevant now. She couldn't just sit back any longer – not after seeing how Aizen had so cruelly punished one of his beloved Espada for simply looking at his tea. The look of pain on Grimmjow's face as he had fallen to the floor made her insides squirm.

She was supposed to be getting more tea for him now, although why the pot she had originally given him wouldn't suffice was anyone's guess, but she had instead found someone else, told them she was feeling unwell and asked them if they would do it.

She needed to be somewhere else.

She found the right room on her third attempt, and swiftly set about opening and inspecting the contents of the filing cabinet. She was half-way through the top drawer when something caught her eye.

It didn't appear like much. The official-looking document blended perfectly well into its environment of other worthless papers, but there was something different about this one. Amaya was drawn to it. She just didn't know why.

She pulled the stapled papers out of the drawer and started scanning the first page. The words she saw didn't make much sense, and Amaya found she had to fully read it to get any sort of meaning from it at all. When she finally got it, she almost collapsed.

They were all pawns.

He wasn't merely using them, as she had realised long ago – what he was doing was far worse.

These papers contained it all – the proof of the lies and the false dreams. They weren't reports on Hueco Mundo. They weren't even reports on Shinigami. They were a simple documentation of the Hougyoku's story.

It was born from the souls of others. It fed off of them in order to survive, in order to become as powerful as it now was. And from Amaya could read, it was far more powerful than Aizen had let on. It was changing him. He would become master of everything. He had told them this of course. He had made it clear that Hueco Mundo would not be adequate as his permanent home. He needed more. But when he said this, he had always implied that the Arrancar would remain with him, climbing to new and better heights.

That was a lie.

The Hougyoku, the thing Amaya herself had used to transform from her previous body, it didn't just need their strength. It needed every part of them, every atom, every hope and fear. It needed their souls.

They would all be sacrificed.

Amaya heard footsteps from nearby and she instantly replaced the file and shut the drawer, hoping she could get out of their before anybody noticed. In the time it took her to escape from the room, she had made up her mind.

She had to stop him.

* * *

"I'm telling you Maya, if you spilt tea on Jeagerjaques, then you're seriously lucky to be alive."

Amaya rolled her eyes. "Yeah, kinda worked that one out."

Del gave her one of her trademarked looks that told Amaya to be more careful in the future. Amaya as usual ignored it. She already knew to be careful, especially when around Aizen. She had learnt that the hard way.

Del finished examining the bruise on Amaya's forehead from where she had run into the door and stepped back. "You'll live."

Amaya smiled gratefully and stood.

"Thanks." She was about to leave when she noticed the look on Del's face. "What?"

"Nothing." Del answered too quickly. Amaya frowned, adding to ache on her temples, letting her know she was not fooled. Del seemed to consider her next question extremely carefully. "You haven't been up to the fifth floor recently, have you?"

"Uh, no."

Del nodded and turned away. "Ok."

"Why?" Amaya asked, now getting highly confused about the situation. What was on the fifth floor?

"It's nothing." No it wasn't. If it was then Del wouldn't have mentioned it in the first place. "It's just…"

Amaya gave up on waiting for a continuation ten seconds later. "Yes?"

Del slumped down into her chair, an anxious expression plastered across her features. "It's just… I've heard some rumours. There was something mention in _¡Hola! _that kind of seemed important, but it's probably just some nonsense. God knows, that magazine once ran a story about Tousen's fictional relationship with a mop."

Amaya took her seat again. This was clearly not the usual tripe the gossip pages came out with. "What is it?"

Del glanced at her for a moment before replying, seeming to size her up. "Apparently, and this is probably just a load of rubbish, but there was a tiny little sentence that caught my attention, apparently there's some highly confidential information hidden up there in an ordinary filing cabinet. Information," Del swallowed, "on Aizen-dono."

Amaya blinked.

Aizen?

* * *

The moon shone down onto the clean white sands of the desert, appearing to sparkle as it touched the hilt of the dunes on the far horizon. Emptiness – that was all there was – a shining emptiness extending for miles and miles. Surely there must be something more?

Amaya Silbido gazed across the land, inspecting the oceanless shores. She flicked out her forked tongue, trying to catch the scent of anything nearby. Nothing.

Slowly, she rose, using the powerful muscles of her tail to extend her body as high as it would go. Her new vantage point gave no change to her view.

Just emptiness.

"What're you thinking 'bout?"

Amaya closed her eyes. The familiar voice did little to comfort her. There were no such things as friends in Hueco Mundo.

"Nothing of any importance." She answered in her usual hissing speech. Her companion would only mock her for her thoughts. They considered ideas of truth or consciousness insignificant. All that mattered to them was where the next soul was coming from. Amaya loathed the very notion of such stupidity.

"Good. 'Cause I don't want to listen to any more of that bull."

Amaya slunk down again, giving up on any chance of revolution. There was nothing to be done. She could only sit under the black sky and wait.

Her companion must have felt it at the same moment she did, as they swore rather loudly in surprise. Amaya twisted; her long body coiling around to see what it was that had interrupted the silence.

It was him.

Amaya had not heard the rumours of the odd stranger visiting Barragan's lands, but even in complete ignorance she could see the significance of the appearance.

The peculiar lone figure, which had appeared from seemingly nowhere, who was now calmly strolling towards the pair of them, just exuded an atmosphere of command. He was important. He was powerful. But most crucially for Amaya, he was different.

The figure stopped ten yards away from them.

A slight smile was dancing across his lips, but it did not reach his eyes. Those eyes contained even less than this disserted desert.

"Do you wish to join me?"

It was such a simple question, Amaya noticed, and yet was so clear, so open, that she wasn't left in any doubt as to what it meant. Amaya knew, although she did not know how, just what this man was doing here.

"Shi- Shi-" Her companion stuttered in pure disbelief. Amaya turned to them. They appeared to be struggling with some unknown force. Their round, owl eyes were wide in what looked like fear. That fear manifested itself in an angry cry. "Shinigami scum!"

And before Amaya could even contemplate stopping them, they leapt up into the air and swooped down upon the intruder.

Amaya watched, horrified, as her companion fell, limp, onto the sand. It had happened faster than she could have imagined. In less than a second, they had been knocked down, without the intruder moving so much as a finger. She didn't blink.

Glistening spirit particles began wafting upwards into the blank sky, temporarily creating the illusion of stars. Amaya stared as her companion slowly evaporated into nothingness.

The figure peered at her, his smile vanishing.

Amaya saw it in that moment. She saw what would become of these dunes. A monumental castle would tower over the sand, shrinking everything else into insignificance. Its gleaming white towers and dome would rival the brightness of the moon itself, casting its own light over Hueco Mundo. And the Hollows, they would not be Hollows any longer, but something else, something new.

The figure extended his hand to her.

"Do you wish for change?"

* * *

Amaya opened her eyes once more, finding the memories had at last faded away. She lay there, perched against the wall of the bleak chamber as blood trickled and gathered into a pool around her body. The colours seemed somehow duller than before, more lifeless. She coughed, red droplets spattering onto the floor beside her. The reality of the moment struck her.

She was dying.

"If only you had remembered, Silbido-san," the cold voice of the once intruder and now ruler echoed off of the tall walls, "to control your curiosity."

Amaya used what was left of her strength to turn her head. She gazed up at the smiling man, hoping to see some form of emotion on Aizen's face. Emptiness – that was all there was – a shining emptiness.

"Good bye, Silbido-san." He said just as clearly as he had done on that first day. And Amaya saw it, just as she had then. She saw what had truly happened.

Was the file she had found even real?

Aizen turned and slowly, his footsteps reverberating around the hall, walked away. His shadow fell across the doorway, the light from outside highlighting his empty smile. He gave her one last fleeting glance, before continuing, making his way out of the room, with Tousen at his heels.

It had been a test.

And Amaya had failed.

The last sight Amaya managed to capture before her eyes drifted shut one last time was that of a silver-haired figure, no longer grinning, his blue eyes open and watching her.

Even as Amaya felt her mind slip away, she could hear his whispered words sounding through her skull, making everything slightly less empty.

"I'm sorry, Maya-chan."

* * *

**The End**


End file.
